\ 


.  <>  7  / 


7 


MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 


Ulysses  S.  Grant  and  his  family.     Photographed  a  short  time 
before  he  was  elected  President 

Frontispiece 


MEMORIES  OF 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

THE   HOME   LIFE  OF  OUR  PRESIDENTS 
FROM   LINCOLN   TO   ROOSEVELT 


BEING  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

COLONEL  W.    H.    CROOK 

i  > 

SOME    TIME    BODYGUARD   TO    LINCOLN,    SINCE   THEN    DISBURSING 
OFFICER    OF    THE    EXECUTIVES 


COMPILED    AND    EDITED   BY 

HENRY    ROOD 


ILLUSTRATED 


BOSTON 
LITTLE,    BROWN,    AND    COMPANY 

1911 


£177 


Copyright,  1910,  1911, 
BY  THE  CURTIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 

Copyright,  1911, 
BY  LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY. 

All  Rights  Reserved. 
Published,  September,  1911. 


printers 
8.  J.  PARKHILL  <fc  Co.,  BOSTON,  U.  8.  A, 


NOTE 

I  beg  to  express  my  indebtedness  to  Mr. 
Henry  Rood,  who  first  suggested  to  me  these 
personal  recollections  of  the  family  and  home 
life  of  the  Presidents  I  have  known,  while 
they  resided  in  the  White  House.  After 
months  of  consultation  with  me  and  study  of 
my  diaries,  he  organized  the  several  chapters 
and  wrote  them.  It  is  hoped  that  this  un 
pretentious  volume  will  give  readers  a  better 
understanding  than  they  might  otherwise 
have  had,  of  Presidents  Lincoln,  Johnson, 
Grant,  Hayes,  Garfield,  Arthur,  Cleveland, 
Harrison,  McKinley,  and  Roosevelt,  whom  I 
saw  daily,  and  who,  one  and  all,  have  treated 
me  with  the  utmost  kindness  and  consider 
ation  during  my  forty-six  years  of  continuous 
service  in  the  Executive  Office. 

W.  H.  CROOK. 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE,   January,  1911. 


M134651 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I   PRESIDENT  LINCOLN'S  HOME   LIFE   IN   THE 

WHITE  HOUSE 1 

II   THE  HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON  .       43 

III  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  PRESIDENT  GRANT       74 

IV  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT 

HAYES 107 

V   WHITE    HOUSE    MEMORIES    OF    PRESIDENT 

GARFIELD  AND  PRESIDENT  ARTHUR    .     .     142 

VI    WHILE    MRS.    CLEVELAND    WAS   "  MISTRESS 

OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  " 169 

VII   THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT 

HARRISON 205 

VIII   THE    HOME    LIFE    OF    McKiNLEY  IN   THE 

WHITE  HOUSE 236 

IX    WHITE  HOUSE  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  PRESIDENT  . 

AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT      ....  270 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Ulysses  S.  Grant  and  his  family Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

President  Lincoln  and  his  family 10 

Church  attended  by  President  Lincoln    ....  22 

The  pulpit  in  "  Lincoln's  church  " 32 

Ford's  Theatre,  where  President  Lincoln  was  shot  40 
The  house  where  President  Lincoln  died     ...  40 
Mrs.  Mary  Johnson  Stover,  Mrs.  Andrew  John 
son,  and  Martha  Johnson  Patterson     ...  44 

Andrew  Johnson 62 

Invitation  and  Order  of  Dancing  of  a  Juvenile 

Soiree  given  by  President  Johnson's  children  70 
Plates    of     special    services    ordered    by    Mrs. 
Lincoln    and    Mrs.    Grant    for    use    at    the 

White  House 94 

Facsimile  of   a   note   from   President  Grant  to 

the  author 102 

Facsimile   of    a    note    from   Alphonso   Taft   to 

President  Hayes HO 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes  and  Mrs.  Hayes    ....  116 

Scott  and  Fannie  Hayes 128 

Rutherford,  Birchard,  and  Webb  Hayes.  132 


x  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 

James  A.  Garfield  and  Mrs.  Garfield 146 

Chester  A.  Arthur 158 

Grover  Cleveland  and  Mrs.  Cleveland  ....  178 

Grand  Corridor  of  the  White  House 182 

The  Blue  Room 186 

The  White  House  on  a  winter  night 194 

Benjamin  Harrison  and  Mrs.  Harrison  ....  206 

The  White  House 218 

William  McKinley  and  Mrs.  McKinley  ....  242 
President  McKinley  embarking  for  a  Potomac 

^P 250 

The  President's  Bedroom  and  the  President's 

Dining-room  254 

The  White  House  Terrace,  looking  toward  the 

Treasury 260 

The  White  House  Office  Building 272 

The  Green  Room 276 

Theodore  Roosevelt  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt  .  .  .  280 

The  Red  Room 286 

The  State  Dining-room 292 

Mrs.  Roosevelt's  Colonial  Garden  at  the  White 

House 296 


MEMORIES 
OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 


PRESIDENT   LINCOLN'S    HOME    LIFE    IN 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

IT  is  my  purpose  in  this  article,  and  in  other 
articles  following,  to  give  a  series  of  pictures 
of  the  home  life  of  the  White  House  during 
various  administrations  commencing  with  that 
of  President  Lincoln. 

Countless  articles  have  been  written,  and 
many  books,  which  have  given  the  official 
side  of  life  in  the  White  House,  if  I  may  so 
term  it;  and  while  these  pictures  of  public 
events  have  been  an  important  contribution 
to  history,  and  a  necessary  contribution,  yet 
it  seems  to  me  that  future  generations  would 
be  glad  to  possess  accurate  knowledge  of 
more  intimate  nature  concerning  the  daily 


2       MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

home  life  of  the  Presidents  and  their  families 
-  especially  the  goings  and  comings,  the 
duties  and  recreations,  of  the  women  and  the 
children  about  which  so  few  now  living  have 
a  personal  knowledge. 

Therefore  I  have  undertaken  the  pleasant 
task  of  putting  down  on  paper  my  own  recol 
lections  of  such  persons  and  events ;  and  what 
ever  of  value  they  may  possess  lies  in  the 
fact  that  they  are  not  drawn  from  other 
sources,  but  are  first-hand  records  of  what 
I  have  actually  seen  and  heard  and  made 
notes  of. 

For  this  reason  I  will  commence  by  relating 
what  occurred  from  the  very  first  minute  that 
I  was  ordered  to  report  at  the  White  House 
for  special  duty  as  personal  body-guard  to 
President  Lincoln.  The  record  will  advance 
step  by  step  in  natural  order  until  it  draws 
to  a  natural  close.  I  may  add  that  I  have 
kept  sufficient  notes  during  the  last  forty-six 
years  to  enable  me  to  be  sure  of  my  statements ; 
and  while  certain  of  them  may  be  disputed  here 
or  there,  yet  the  reader  may  rest  assured  that 
I  know  whereof  I  speak. 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  3 

After  having  served  in  the  Union  Army,  I 
had  been  a  member  of  the  police  force  of 
Washington  for  about  two  years,  and  was 
off  duty  resting  in  my  home  near  First  and 
M  streets,  N.  W.,  on  Thursday,  January 
5,  1865.  About  the  middle  of  that  day  a 
fellow  member  of  the  Washington  police 
force  arrived  there  and  notified  me  that  I 
had  been  ordered  to  report  at  eight  o'clock 
that  night  to  the  President  as  his  personal 
body-guard.  Up  to  that  time  I  had  never 
seen  President  Lincoln,  or  any  other  Presi 
dent;  and  naturally  I  was  a  good  deal  sur 
prised  at  this  notification,  for  it  meant  many 
things.  Among  others,  it  meant  that  I  had 
been  chosen  to  stand  between  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  danger  of  all  kinds,  including 
possible  assassination,  and  this  gave  me 
a  sense  of  the  deepest  satisfaction,  for  it 
showed  that  my  superior  officers  on  the 
police  force  had  picked  me  out  as  a  man 
who  could  be  trusted  —  than  which  no  greater 
compliment  could  possibly  have  been  paid 
me. 

I  was  then  twenty-six  years  old,  of  medium 


4       MEMORIES  OF  THE   WHITE  HOUSE 

height,  wiry,  lithe,  and  powerful,  having  lived 
most  of  my  life  in  the  open  air:  enjoying 
perfect  health,  never  knowing  what  nerves 
meant,  with  clear  eyesight,  keen  sense  of 
hearing,  and  ready  to  go  anywhere  or  do 
anything  at  a  moment's  notice. 

As  soon  as  the  officer  had  delivered  his  mes 
sage  I  went  into  the  house  and  told  my  wife, 
who  at  once  saw  the  grave  responsibilities  that 
had  been  placed  on  me,  and  who  was  greatly 
disturbed,  not  because  of  any  danger  or  peril 
to  myself  -  -  she  knew  me  well  enough  to  know 
that  I  could  take  care  of  myself  under 
almost  any  conceivable  circumstances  —  but 
because  it  almost  overwhelmed  her  to  think 
that  in  that  time  of  terrible  civil  war,  upon 
my  shoulders,  upon  my  judgment,  upon  my 
quickness  of  thought  and  carefulness,  had  been 
placed  the  safety,  perhaps  the  life,  of  the  man 
who  had  been  raised  up  by  the  Lord  God 
Almighty  to  preserve  the  Union  as  surely  as 
Moses  had  been  raised  up  to  lead  the  People 
of  Israel  through  their  trials  and  tribulations 
until  he  brought  them  to  the  threshold  of  the 
promised  land. 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  5 

I  shall  never  forget  that  evening  of  Thurs 
day,  January  5,  1865.  Pursuant  to  orders  I 
went  directly  from  my  home  to  the  White 
House,  walked  up  the  stairs  to  the  President's 
office,  and  exactly  at  eight  o'clock  told  the 
doorkeeper  that  I  was  ordered  to  report  to 
the  President  personally.  The  doorkeeper  at 
once  threw  open  the  door  and  I  stepped 
modestly  into  the  office,  where  for  the  first 
time  I  saw  Abraham  Lincoln.  The  Presi 
dent  was  seated  on  the  further  side  of  the 
room  in  a  revolving  chair  in  front  of  his  old- 
fashioned  desk,  going  over  some  papers.  As 
I  appeared,  quietly,  he  looked  up  from  his 
desk,  and  I  said: 

"  Mr.  President,  my  name  is  W.  H.  Crook. 
I  have  been  ordered  to  report  to  you  for  duty 
as  your  personal  body-guard." 

The  President  merely  responded:  "  All 
right,  Crook." 

Then  he  turned  to  his  papers  again  and  I 
at  once  left  the  office,  going  downstairs,  for 
this  was  the  night  of  the  regular  Thursday 
levee,  a  reception  given  by  the  President  and 
his  official  family  to  all  of  the  public  who 
wished  to  attend. 


6       MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

On  reaching  the  ground  floor  of  the  White 
House,  after  leaving  the  President's  office,  I 
was  immediately  shown  to  my  position  for 
the  evening  by  Mr.  Thomas  F.  Pendel,  door 
keeper,  who  had  charge  of  such  arrangements. 
His  orders  were  for  me  to  stand  near  the 
President  during  the  entire  reception,  where 
I  could  see  every  person  who  approached  to 
greet  him. 

At  that  time  the  public  attending  the  levee 
came  into  the  White  House  through  the  main 
entrance  on  the  north  front.  It  was  under 
stood,  of  course,  that  wraps  of  all  kinds,  and 
overcoats  and  shawls  must  be  taken  off  in 
the  cloak-room  —  and  for  very  good  reason. 
The  fact  must  never  be  lost  sight  of  that 
these  were  war  times;  the  whole  country  was 
in  tumult;  at  any  moment  an  attempt  might 
be  made  to  assassinate  the  President,  and  no 
precaution  could  be  overlooked. 

Precisely  at  nine  o'clock  the  President  and 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  accompanied  by  the  Cabinet 
officers  and  their  wives,  left  the  living-rooms 
of  the  President's  household  and  descended 
to  the  main  floor  by  way  of  the  private  stair- 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  7 

way  at  the  west  end  of  the  White  House. 
The  Marine  Band  was  stationed  in  an  open 
space  near  the  official  staircase  at  the  left  side 
of  the  main  entrance.  Those  attending  the 
reception  passed  through  this  main  entrance, 
and  after  leaving  coats  and  wraps  in  the 
cloak-room,  passed  around  into  the  Red 
Room,  where  many  of  them  gathered  and 
waited  until  the  doors  leading  into  the  Blue 
Room  should  be  thrown  open,  for  it  was  in 
the  Blue  Room  just  beyond  these  doors  that 
the  President  and  his  official  family  stood 
and  received  their  guests. 

I  stood  in  the  Red  Room  in  front  of  those 
closed  doors  for  a  short  time  watching  the 
throng  gather  there,  and  was  almost  dazzled 
by  the  spectacle.  In  the  first  place,  the  ele 
gance  of  the  room  itself  was  something  to 
which  I  had  never  been  accustomed,  with  its 
elaborate  furnishing  and  brilliant  lighting; 
and  naturally  those  formed  in  line  nearest 
the  closed  doors  were  members  of  the  Diplo 
matic  Corps  in  all  their  gorgeous  uniforms 
and  decorations,  accompanied  by  the  ladies 
of  their  families,  who  were  clad  in  Parisian 


8       MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

frocks,  and  who  wore  such  an  abundance  of 
jewels  as  I  had  read  of  but  had  never  seen 
and  never  expected  to  see.  No  wonder  that 
I,  a  young  man  of  twenty-six,  who  had  spent 
almost  all  of  my  life  in  a  little  Maryland 
village,  was  temporarily  dazzled  by  those 
gentlemen  and  ladies,  and  by  the  officers  of 
the  army  and  navy  who  immediately  followed 
them,  these  also  being  in  full  dress  uniform 
and  for  the  most  part  accompanied  by  ladies 
likewise  most  beautifully  dressed. 

My  moment  of  bewilderment  was  brief;  for 
near  the  hour  of  nine  the  doors  were  thrown 
open,  and  in  the  Blue  Room  a  few  feet  be 
yond  the  threshold  stood  Ward  H.  Lammon, 
Marshal  of  the  District  of  Columbia;  just 
beyond  him  was  President  Lincoln  with  Mrs. 
Lincoln  by  his  side,  and  next  to  her  the  wives 
of  the  Cabinet  officers  in  the  receiving  line. 

I  at  once  took  my  position  just  inside  the 
Blue  Room,  directly  opposite  the  President, 
and  turned  so  as  to  face  every  person  who 
came  up  to  the  threshold  of  that  door  —  for 
my  business  was  to  see  that  no  suspicious 
character  should  come  within  reach  of  Presi- 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  9 

dent  Lincoln ;  and  that  no  person,  even  though 
well  known,  should  cross  that  doorway  with 
hands  concealed  or  covered  in  any  manner 
whatsoever.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
in  guarding  a  President  or  any  other  man 
the  first  consideration  is  to  watch  the  hands 
of  those  who  might  do  harm.  Empty  hands 
can  never  accomplish  assassination. 

As  each  couple  reached  Marshal  Lammon  he 
introduced  them  to  the  President,  who,  turn 
ing  slightly,  introduced  them  to  his  wife;  and 
then  they  passed  down  the  receiving  line  bow 
ing  to  each  of  the  ladies.  It  was  all  very 
simple,  very  dignified,  and,  if  I  may  use  the 
term,  very  "  American."  President  Lincoln 
smiled  and  grasped  the  hand  of  each  man 
presented,  with  a  heartiness  and  cordiality 
which  admitted  of  no  doubt  as  to  his  sincer 
ity.  There  he  stood,  tall,  lean,  and  broad  of 
shoulders,  with  a  noble  countenance;  for  the 
time  being  the  lines  of  care  departed  and  his 
eyes  were  lighted  with  the  cordiality  of  a  host 
who  is  really  glad  to  meet  his  guests.  And 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  standing  next  to  him,  her  head 
barely  reaching  to  his  shoulder,  was  equally 


10     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

cordial,  equally  gracious,  as  she  greeted  those 
who  were  presented.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
picture  presented  as  I  first  saw  her  that  even 
ing.  She  wore  a  low-neck  dress  and  hoop 
skirts,  which  seem  so  funny  to  the  young- 
people  of  the  present  generation;  encircling 
her  beautiful  plump  throat  was  a  necklace  of 
filigree  work,  and  around  her  head  the  wreath 
of  white  roses  which  she  invariably  wore  on 
such  occasions:  a  smiling,  cordial  little  lady, 
graceful  although  so  plump,  bowing  to  each 
of  the  men  and  women  as  the  President  in 
troduced  them,  and  evidently  enjoying  every 
moment  as  the  evening  passed. 

As  the  guests  reached  the  end  of  the  re 
ceiving  line  they  strolled  around  the  Blue 
Room,  where  were  scattered  members  of  the 
Cabinet  and  others  high  in  official  life,  friends 
and  acquaintances  greeting  each  other  and 
gathering  in  groups  for  a  few  minutes,  then 
drifting  on  naturally  into  the  Green  Room, 
and  from  there  into  the  spacious  and  magnif 
icent  East  Room. 

All  the  time  that  the  people  were  going  in 
and  giving  their  names  to  Marshal  Lammon, 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  11 

and  passing  the  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  the  ladies  of  the  Cabinet,  I  remained  stand 
ing  opposite  Lincoln,  alert  in  every  nerve  of  my 
being,  and  with  my  eyes  searching  every  man 
and  woman  as  they  approached  the  marshal. 
To  those  accustomed  to  the  formality  of  re 
ceptions  during  recent  administrations,  that 
levee  away  back  in  1865  would  have  been  an 
amusing  contrast.  All  sorts  and  conditions  of 
people  from  every  section  of  the  country  came 
up  to  be  presented.  Many  of  the  private  citi 
zens  were  in  full  evening  dress,  of  course,  and 
among  them  were  men  and  women  occupying 
high  positions  in  finance,  commerce,  profes 
sional  life,  and  in  society.  But  in  that  long 
stream,  slowly  wending  its  way  to  where  the 
President  stood,  were  also  men  and  women 
from  the  country  districts  and  backwoods, 
and  from  farms  in  New  England  and  the 
Middle  States,  and  from  what  we  now  call 
the  Middle  West.  It  did  not  seem  strange 
to  me  then,  although  I  cannot  help  but  smile 
now  as  I  recall  the  scene,  that  many  of  those 
humbler  folk  whom  Lincoln  thought  so  much 
of,  whom  he  loved  so  well,  and  in  whom  he 


12     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

placed  implicit  faith  as  the  strong  bulwark  of 
the  nation  —  it  did  not  then  seem  strange  that 
many  of  the  women  wore  dresses  and  bonnets 
most  unfashionably  made,  and  of  anything  but 
expensive  material.  Among  them  were  hearty, 
strong  farmers'  wives,  arrayed  in  their  best 
Sunday-go-to-meeting  frocks;  some  of  whom 
wore  mitts,  others  gloves  fitting  none  too  well. 
And  many  a  woman  put  forth  a  hand  hard 
ened  by  toil  in  the  service  of  husbands  and 
sons  who  were  then  at  the  front  —  and  you 
may  well  believe  that  no  hands  were  grasped 
more  cordially  by  the  great  President  and  his 
wife  than  these. 

Once  in  a  while  a  young  daughter  would 
accompany  her  father  and  mother,  but  it  made 
no  difference  whether  she  were  a  debutante 
from  Philadelphia,  Boston,  New  York,  or  a 
tired  "  schoolma'am "  from  some  little  red 
schoolhouse,  or  a  hard-working  farmer's 
daughter,  —  the  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln 
were  glad  to  see  them  one  and  all. 

Then  a  few  came  along  in  that  slow-moving 
line  to  whom  the  President  seemed  especially 
grateful  for  what  he  considered  the  honor  of 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  13 

their  presence;  and  these  few,  scattered  here 
and  there,  were  old  women,  —  women  with 
bowed  shoulders  and  white  hair,  dim  of  vision, 
feeble  of  step,  whose  sons  and  grandsons  were 
somewhere  south  of  the  Potomac  carrying 
muskets,  or  wandering  in  the  swamps,  or  suf 
fering  with  gaping  wounds  in  hospitals,  or 
undergoing  terrible  misery  inseparable  from 
some  of  the  military  prisons  in  the  South. 
And  such  women  as  I  have  mentioned  partic 
ularly  were  usually  accompanied  by  husbands, 
or  brothers,  vastly  different  in  appearance 
from  the  well-fed,  well-dressed  men  from  the 
great  cities  who  formed  a  majority  of  those 
present. 

I  wonder  what  would  happen  now  at  a 
Presidential  reception  if  a  dozen,  or  twenty, 
or  thirty  men  should  enter  the  White  House, 
as  a  matter  of  course  wearing  negligee  shirts, 
slouch  hats,  and  cowhide  boots  into  the  tops 
of  which  were  thrust  their  trousers!  It  is  a 
literal  fact,  however,  that  not  a  few  of  the 
men  presented  to  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln 
at  the  levee  of  January  5,  1865,  came  up  to 
the  door  of  the  Blue  Room  wearing  such 


14     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

heavy,  clumsy,  cowhide  boots.  They  thought 
nothing  of  it.  Neither  did  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and 
least  of  all  the  President.  For  to  Lincoln 
clothes  meant  nothing  —  manhood,  truth, 
honor,  hard  work,  meant  everything. 

As  might  be  imagined,  under  the  circum 
stances,  I  was  nervous  and  anxious  that  night, 
when  for  the  first  time  I  was  called  upon  to 
guard  the  safety  and  life  of  the  President. 
Occasionally  I  glanced  at  him  as  he  stood 
only  a  few  feet  from  me;  but  for  practically 
every  second  of  that  entire  evening  I  kept 
my  eyes  on  one  couple  after  another  as  they 
came  forward,  noting  man  after  man,  and 
woman  after  woman;  first  being  sure  that 
their  hands  were  in  plain  view,  and  that  they 
held  nothing  unless  it  were  a  fan  or  a  hand 
kerchief -- even  then  being  sure  that  no 
weapon  of  any  kind  was  concealed  beneath  a 
fan  or  within  a  handkerchief. 

When  the  last  of  the  several  hundred 
people  present  had  been  introduced  by  Mar 
shal  Lammon,  the  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln 
quietly  withdrew  and  went  upstairs  to  their 
living-rooms.  Just  before  leaving  the  Blue 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  15 

Room  the  President  told  me  to  wait  for  him 
downstairs,  as  he  wished  to  go  to  the  War 
Department.  It  was  then  after  eleven  o'clock ; 
and  at  about  eleven-thirty,  the  guests  having 
all  departed  from  the  White  House,  the  Presi 
dent  came  down  again  and  I  accompanied  him 
to  the  War  Department,  going  through  the 
basement  of  the  White  House  and  thence  over 
to  the  War  Department,  where,  as  usual,  he 
made  his  midnight  call  on  Secretary  Stanton 
to  get  news  from  the  front.  Before  long  we 
returned  to  the  White  House  and  the  Presi 
dent  retired,  I  remaining  on  duty  in  the  hall 
way  outside  of  the  room  where  he  was  sleep 
ing  until  relieved  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  Thus  ended  my  first  experience  as 
body-guard  to  Abraham  Lincoln. 

The  daily  life  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln 
usually  commenced  at  eight  o'clock,  and  im 
mediately  upon  dressing  the  President  would 
go  into  the  library,  where  he  would  sit  in  his 
favorite  chair  in  the  middle  of  the  room  and 
read  a  chapter  or  two  of  his  Bible.  I  think 
I  am  safe  in  saying  that  this  was  President 
Lincoln's  invariable  custom  —  at  least  it  was 


16      MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

such  during  the  time  I  was  on  duty  with 
him.  ^ 

At  about  eight-thirty  he  would  join  Mrs. 
Lincoln  and  little  Tad  in  the  small,  unpreten 
tious  dining-room  for  breakfast,  where  a  plain 
but  sufficiently  hearty  meal  was  served  by  two 
waiters  who  were  white  men,  and  who  were 
paid  personally  by  the  President,  who  also 
paid  the  wages  of  the  cook  and  his  coachman 
and  footman.  There  was  little  formality  about 
the  meal;  the  President  loved  to  joke  with 
his  wife  and  son,  and  for.  the  time  being  put 
aside  the  cares  of  his  great  office  and  his  anx 
iety  for  the  country.  As  soon  as  breakfast 
was  over,  the  President  would  go  to  his  office 
and  commence  the  ceaseless  toil  of  his  busy  day. 

Mrs.  Lincoln  was  not  merely  an  excellent 
housekeeper  but  a  practical  one,  and  she  busied 
herself  about  the  White  House  (then  called 
the  Executive  Mansion),  much  as  any  other 
housekeeper  would  busy  herself  about  her  pri 
vate  home.  She  would  go  from  room  to 
room,  seeing  that  the  work  was  satisfactorily 
done,  looking  after  the  innumerable  small 
details,  especially  those  which  had  to  do 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  17 

with  the  comfort  of  her  husband  and  her 
little  son. 

Then,  as  a  general  thing,  Mrs.  Lincoln  would 
attend  to  her  personal  correspondence  in  her 
own  boudoir,  where  she  had  a  desk;  after 
wards,  likely  as  not,  going  down  to  the 'old 
conservatory,  long  since  supplanted,  which  was 
a  favorite  resort  for  her.  She  loved  flowers 
and  understood  them  and  knew  their  needs; 
and  was  able  to  give  the  one  gardener  directions 
as  to  what  she  wanted  done  and  also  how  to 
do  it.  Many  times  have  I  seen  her  looking  at 
some  favorite  flower  as  if  she  were  helping  it  to 
give  forth  its  bloom  and  fragrance.  Some 
times  she  would  say  to  me  with  real  enthusiasm : 

"  Crook,  look  at  this  beautiful  bud!  Soon 
it  will  be  in  full  bloom." 

Because  of  her  love  of  flowers  and  her 
knowledge  of  plant  life,  the  old  conservatory 
during  President  Lincoln's  administration  was 
a  model  of  its  kind. 

Every  now  and  then  during  the  day,  if 
Mrs.  Lincoln  happened  to  think  of  something 
she  wished  to  tell  her  husband,  she  did  not  hesi 
tate  to  go  into  his  office  as  she  would  have  gone 


18      MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

unhesitatingly  into  his  law  office  in  Springfield. 
For  first  of  all  Abraham  Lincoln  was  her  hus 
band;  she  was  his  helpmate  and  comrade,  and 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  world  figure,  occupied 
with  some  of  the  gravest  problems  that  have 
ever  affected  mankind,  did  not  overwhelm  and 
blot  out  the  fact  that  he  was  her  husband.  I  do 
not  wish  to  be  misunderstood  by  any  who  might 
think  that  Mrs.  Lincoln  would  intrude  upon  the 
President  while  he  was  engaged  in  his  office, 
for  she  was  very  careful  never  to  interrupt  any 
of  the  countless  conferences  with  officials  of 
the  government,  or  with  representatives  of  for 
eign  governments,  or  with  humble  citizens  in 
private  life  who  constantly  called  upon  Presi 
dent  Lincoln.  She  was  careful,  as  became  a 
woman  of  intelligence  and  common  sense,  not 
thus  to  interfere ;  but  when  the  President  was 
not  occupied  with  such  matters,  she  often  would 
come  into  his  office  and  ask  him  a  question  about 
some  matter  of  common  interest  —  to  find  out 
if  he  had  an  engagement  for  that  afternoon  or 
evening,  whether  he  could  go  to  the  theater, 
or  take  a  drive;  or  to  speak  with  him  about 
something  or  other  that  little  Tad  wished  to 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  19 

do.    Looking  at  their  lives  in  this  aspect,  it  was 
all  very  beautiful  and  homelike. 

A  great  many  people  have  had  the  idea  that 
Mrs.  Lincoln  did  not  realize,  at  the  time,  the 
gravity  of  her  husband's  position,  and  what 
an  extraordinary  influence  he  wielded  in  the 
world;  and  certainly  many  have  thought  that 
she  was  not  as  solicitous  for  his  comfort  and 
his  happiness  as  she  might  have  been.  But 
I  wish  to  go  on  record  as  saying  that  during 
the  time  I  was  on  duty,  Mrs.  Lincoln  looked 
after  her  husband's  welfare  with  the  utmost 
consideration.  She  was  of  a  cheerful,  lively 
temperament;  she  had  a  sense  of  humor  that 
enabled  her  to  appreciate  the  President's  droll 
stories  and  homely  wit;  and  certainly  in  this 
regard  she  aided  him  to  ease  what  was  an 
almost  insupportable  burden  during  the  dark 
est  days  of  the  war.  People  have  thought  Mrs. 
Lincoln  frivolous.  She  was  not.  She  knew,  for 
example,  what  the  President  liked  to  eat  and 
what  was  good  for  him  to  eat,  and  she  saw 
that  he  had  it.  When  the  weather  was  cold 
she  made  it  her  business  to  see  that  the  Presi 
dent  did  not  go  outdoors  unless  he  had  about 


20     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

his  shoulders  a  warm  gray  shawl  so  that  he 
would  not  catch  cold  and  possibly  incur  dan 
gerous  illness.  Of  course  there  must  be  two 
sides  to  the  life  of  any  President  —  one  being 
that  of  public  life  and  affairs  concerning  which 
the  world  knows  more  or  less ;  and  in  this  Mrs. 
Lincoln  did  not  attempt  to  exert  an  influence, 
as  history  records  on  the  part  of  many  women 
in  the  courts  of  Europe  during  days  gone  by. 
Mr.  Lincoln  ate  heartily  but  not  to  excess ;  he 
was  particularly  fond  of  certain  things,  espe 
cially  apples,  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  always  had  a 
sufficiency  of  this  fruit  chosen  carefully  and 
ready  at  hand.  The  President  never  used  to 
bacco  as  far  as  I  know,  and  I  never  knew  him 
to  drink  wine  or  other  alcoholic  beverages,  not 
even  at  the  state  dinners  where,  of  course, 
wines  were  provided  for  those  who  wished 
them.  I  am  quite  sure  that  neither  he  nor 
Mrs.  Lincoln  worried  about  the  possibility  of 
the  President  being  assassinated.  Certainly 
if  Mrs.  Lincoln  was  worried  about  such  an 
occurrence  she  did  not  show  it,  and  the  Presi 
dent  exercised  the  calm  philosophy  of  a  stoic 
in  this  particular.  He  believed  that  if  any- 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  21 

body  was  bad  enough  to  kill  him  there  was 
nothing  on  earth  to  prevent  it. 

Mrs.  Lincoln  occasionally  had  old  friends 
from  Illinois,  and  elsewhere,  visiting  her  in  the 
White  House;  but  there  was  very  little  of  so 
cial  gayety  then  as  compared  with  that  obtain 
ing  under  later  administrations  and  under  the 
administrations  of  earlier  Presidents,  when,  for 
instance,  "  Dolly  "  Madison  entertained  so  bril 
liantly. 

Again  I  remind  my  readers  of  the  fact  that 
during  Lincoln's  administration  the  country 
was  torn  apart  with  the  most  terrible  warfare; 
death  was  on  every  hand,  the  black  badge  of 
mourning  was  seen  on  every  side;  and  those 
connected  with  the  White  House,  where  cen 
tered  the  entire  nervous  system  of  the  nation, 
felt  the  strain  of  conflict,  the  grief  and  sorrow, 
so  poignantly  and  so  constantly  that  it  is  no 
wonder  gayety  and  lightness  of  spirit  were  ab 
sent  for  the  most  part.  Then  again,  the  Presi 
dent's  second  son,  Willie  Lincoln,  had  died  only 
two  years  previous,  and  both  President  and 
Mrs.  Lincoln  unquestionably  felt  this  loss  while 
I  was  acting  as  body-guard.  Robert  Lincoln, 


22     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

the  eldest  of  the  three  sons,  then  a  young  man, 
was  a  captain  serving  on  Grant's  staff,  and 
came  only  occasionally  to  the  White  House. 

From  some  cause  an  unusual  impediment  in 
little  Tad  Lincoln's  speech  made  it  extremely 
difficult  for  him  to  pronounce  certain  words, 
and  really  impossible  for  him  to  enunciate 
clearly  a  name  like  Smith,  for  instance.  Per 
haps  it  was  partly  owing  to  this  that  he  did 
not  attend  a  school  while  living  in  the  White 
House.  At  any  rate  he  had  a  tutor,  a  fine, 
scholarly  Scotchman  named  Williamson,  who 
came  every  morning  to  teach  the  boy  his  lessons. 
All  the  rest  of  the  time  Tad  spent  in  play 
ing,  in  reading,  and  investigating  —  when 
he  was  not  with  his  father.  Whenever  it  was 
possible,  Mr.  Lincoln  had  the  little  fellow 
with  him. 

I  verily  believe  that  this  child's  prescience 
and  feeling  had  greater  influence  with  the  Pres 
ident  than  the  arguments  of  the  latter's  entire 
administration.  Lincoln  lived  for  one  thing,  and 
for  one  thing  only,  —  to  help  his  countrymen 
as  a  whole,  regardless  of  sections,  North,  East, 
South,  or  West,  to  do  what  was  right;  to  seek 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  23 

and  follow  the  course  which  would  be  kindest, 
wisest,  most  helpful  in  the  highest  sense.  Pro 
foundly  reverent  himself,  he  accepted  as  literal 
fact  the  statement  that  the  surest  way  to  bring 
about  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  on  earth  —  to 
bring  about  conditions  of  peace,  and  love,  and 
sympathy  between  the  great  forces  which  had 
torn  his  country  apart  —  was  for  us  all  to 
believe  in  goodness  and  truth  with  the  simple, 
unquestioning  faith  of  the  little  child.  Perhaps 
it  was  his  logical  carrying  out  of  this  reasoning 
that  led  him  to  gain  renewed  strength  from  con 
stant  association  with  his  little  son.  Certain  it 
is  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  wholly  wrapped 
up  in  the  boy. 

As  I  remember  him  best,  Tad  was  a  bright 
lad  of  nine  or  ten  years.  To  some  he  seemed 
to  be  unusually  inquisitive;  but  as  I  now  look 
back,  I  think  this  was  an  inevitable  result  of  his 
inherited  intellect,  as  well  as  of  his  share  of 
his  father's  strong  character.  Tad  wanted  to 
know  all  about  everything.  It  did  n't  matter 
much  what  was  the  subject,  to  whatever  his 
attention  was  called,  on  whatever  his  fancy 
alighted  —  to  that  he  sprang,  eagerly  and  in- 


24     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

stantly,  and  he  wanted  to  master  it  in  every 
detail  of  being,  cause,  and  effect. 

Like  the  great  President,  Tad  had  a  heart 
like  a  woman's.  If  he  differed  from  other  boys 
in  any  one  thing  to  a  marked  degree,  it  was 
in  that  fact.  Most  boys,  by  nature,  I  sup 
pose,  are  inherently  cruel --to  each  other, 
to  brothers  or  sisters,  to  dogs  or  cats,  as  we 
all  know.  Tad  Lincoln  never  was  cruel  to 
any  living  creature.  It  may  have  been  this 
fundamental  trait  in  his  childish  character  that 
formed  the  basis  of  that  wonderful  bond  of 
sympathy  and  understanding  which  certainly 
existed  between  his  father  and  himself. 

I  hope  I  am  not  giving  the  impression  that 
Tad  was  what  is  termed  colloquially  a  "  prig," 
or  anything  approaching  it.  Excepting  for  his 
tenderness  of  heart,  and  his  endowment  with  an 
extraordinary  intellect,  he  differed  in  nowise 
from  the  average  bright,  energetic,  American 
lad.  While  he  lived  in  the  White  House  the 
military  side  of  life  was  uppermost  in  every 
one's  mind,  and  naturally  Tad  was  interested 
in  soldiers.  To  be  a  soldier  was  the  height  of 
his  ambition,  and  he  had  a  regulation  army 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  25 

lieutenant's  uniform,  with  epaulettes  and  all 
the  other  accessories,  in  which  he  often  would 
dress  up  and  strut  around  in  high  feather. 
Like  all  children  he  was  very  fond  of  private 
theatricals,  and  delighted  in  "  acting  plays." 
So  a  room  in  the  White  House  was  fitted  up 
for  him  as  a  miniature  theatre,  and  there  he 
spent  many  of  the  happiest  hours  of  his  life. 

But  as  I  look  back  over  nearly  half  a  century, 
I  see  him  most  plainly  and  oftenest  seated 
in  a  little  wagon,  driving  a  pair  of  goats 
around  the  White  House  grounds.  Some 
times  the  goats  would  trot  along  as  directed, 
and  sometimes  they  would  decline  to  move, 
or  move  in  the  wrong  direction,  or  try  to  move 
in  two  directions  at  once,  as  goats  will.  But 
Tad  did  n't  mind  much.  He  would  simply 
wait  until  the  steeds  were  ready  to  go  where 
he  wished,  and  then  they  would  start  on. 

When  I  accompanied  Mr.  Lincoln  to  Peters 
burg,  during  his  memorable  visit  to  the  front, 
little  Tad  went  with  us,  and  slept  in  my  state 
room  aboard  the  steamer,  so  I  could  be  sure 
no  harm  came  to  him.  I  doubt  if  I  ever  felt 
greater  responsibility  in  guarding  the  Presi- 


26     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

dent  himself  than  I  felt  when  he  placed  his 
boy's  hand  in  mine,  and  said  I  was  to  keep 
him  from  danger. 

The  death  of  his  father  almost  broke  Tad's 
heart  —  I  say  this  literally  —  and  not  so  very 
long  afterward  he  died,  while  in  Europe  with 
his  mother. 

I  am  sure  that  all  those  who  came  in  close 
contact  with  the  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln 
would  agree  in  saying  that  they  were  a  happy 
couple,  and  that  they  led  a  peaceful,  quiet, 
happy  life,  understanding  each  other,  sympa 
thizing  with  each  other,  doing  their  best  to 
influence  Robert  for  his  own  good,  and  to 
bring  up  little  Tad  so  that  he  should  lead  a  life 
truly  successful.  I  never  knew  President  Lin 
coln  to  lose  his  temper  on  any  occasion,  al 
though  I  have  been  present  when  I  could  only 
wonder  how  he  could  sit  still  in  dignified  calm 
ness  when  any  other  man  under  equal  con 
ditions  would  have  risen  up  in  righteous  wrath, 
and  most  men  would  have  exerted  physical 
violence;  this,  of  course,  when  some  reckless 
man  would  meet  him  face  to  face  and  denounce 
his  policies  or  question  his  motives.  As  for 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  27 

the  domestic  relations  between  the  President 
and  Mrs.  Lincoln,  I  do  not  recall  ever  hearing 
or  seeing  a  discussion  between  them. 

At  that  time,  it  must  be  remembered,  any 
one  who  wished  to  talk  with  Lincoln  could 
walk  up  to  his  office,  and  after  speaking  with 
the  doorkeeper  go  in  and  meet  him.  Except 
ing  when  engaged  with  others,  President  Lin 
coln  seldom  if  ever  declined  to  receive  any  man 
or  woman  who  came  to  the  White  House 
to  see  him.  When  I  remember  the  numbers 
of  people  who  came  there  on  all  conceivable 
errands,  for  all  imaginable  purposes,  it  seems 
surprising  that  he  could  get  through  with  his 
work  and  then  grant  them  interviews.  But 
Lincoln  had  a  most  effective  way  of  dismissing 
those  who  trespassed  upon  his  time,  which  be 
longed  not  to  himself  but  to  the  nation.  Let 
me  give  an  illustration  of  what  I  mean. 

Some  morning  an  up-state  politician  would 
come  bustling  into  the  White  House  and  want 
to  see  the  President,  not  for  any  real  reason, 
but  merely  that  he  might  go  back  to  his 
constituents  and  tell  how  he  was  received 
by  the  President,  and  what  he  said  to  the 


28     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

President,  and  what  the  President  said  to  him, 
etc.,  etc. 

Lincoln  would  size  up  such  a  man  in  a  half 
a  minute,  and  he  could  get  rid  of  him  in  another 
half  minute,  not  brusquely,  not  by  waving 
him  aside,  not  by  suggesting  that  he  was  too 
busy  to  be  seen  at  that  particular  time;  on 
the  contrary,  before  the  up-state  politician 
would  have  a  chance  to  tell  what  he  thought  of 
the  President's  policies  Mr.  Lincoln  would 
start  in  on  a  droll  story,  and  when  he  finished 
the  politician  would  be  laughing  so  heartily  he 
would  forget  all  about  what  he  was  going  to 
tell  the  President.  Then  his  hand  would  be 
grasped  by  the  President,  who  would  at  once 
turn  to  his  desk,  and  the  politician  would  find 
himself  leaving  the  White  House  more  than 
satisfied  with  his  call,  which  had  lasted  two 
minutes  instead  of  two  hours  as  he  had  ex 
pected. 

So  great  was  the  pressure  on  the  Presi- 
ident's  time  and  thought  that  he  had  little 
chance  for  pleasure  and  recreation,  ex 
cept  for  an  occasional  horseback  ride  out  to 
the  Soldiers'  Home.  He  enjoyed  moderately 


PRESIDENT   LINCOLN  29 

a  really  good  theatrical  performance  by  com 
petent  actors,  but  not  with  the  enthusiasm 
shown  by  Mrs.  Lincoln,  who  was  very  fond 
indeed  of  the  drama.  When  the  President 
and  his  wife  went  to  the  theater,  they  would 
step  into  a  carriage  at  the  White  House  and 
drive  directly  to  their  destination,  just  as  any 
other  gentleman  and  lady  in  private  life  would 
do.  On  arriving  in  front  of  the  playhouse 
Burke,  the  big,  burly  Irish  coachman,  would 
pull  up  his  horses,  and  the  footman,  Charley 
Forbes,  would  swing  down  to  the  sidewalk  and 
open  the  door  of  the  carriage,  whereupon  Mrs. 
Lincoln  and  the  President  would  step  out,, 
being  met  at  once  by  a  body-guard  whose  busi 
ness  it  was  to  be  on  hand  when  they  arrived. 
Without  any  ostentation  or  display  what 
ever  the  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln,  followed 
by  the  body-guard,  and  led  by  an  usher,  would 
quietly  walk  into  the  box  which  had  been  re 
served  for  them,  and  as  they  did  so  the  audience 
would  rise  and  stand  in  silence  until  the  Presi 
dent  acknowledged  this  mark  of  respect  with 
a  dignified  bow,  in  which  recognition  Mrs. 
Lincoln  joined  by  a  graceful  inclination  of 


30      MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

her  head.  Then  they  would  seat  themselves 
in  the  box  and  the  audience  would  seat  itself 
throughout  the  house.  During  the  progress 
of  the  play  the  attention  of  the  audience  was 
centered  on  the  stage  and  not  upon  the  Presi 
dent  and  his  wife,  or  any  guests  whom  they 
might  have  with  them  in  the  box;  for  Lincoln 
was  so  near  to  the  people  of  his  beloved  coun 
try  that  they  felt  no  desire  to  stare  at  him 
from  motives  of  curiosity.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  play,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  their 
guard  would  retire  from  the  box,  and  quietly 
leave  the  theater.  Such  of  the  audience  as 
were  in  the  aisles  simply  made  way  for  them. 
They  would  then  step  into  their  carriage, 
Forbes  would  close  the  door  and  regain  his 
seat  beside  Burke,  who  would  speak  to  his 
horses  and  away  the  carriage  would  roll 
toward  the  White  House  as  a  score  of  other 
carriages  were  rolling  in  other  directions  from 
the  theater. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  of  course,  never  wore  full  even 
ing  dress;  nor  any  decoration  or  insignia 
whatever  to  distinguish  himself  from  the  mil 
lions  of  his  countrymen  with  whom  he  stood 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  31 

on  a  plane  of  equality;  for  as  much  as  he  be 
lieved  that  he  was  living  and  breathing  he  be 
lieved  that  God  had  created  all  men  to  be 
equal,  and  that  any  difference  such  as  creates 
caste,  or  even  exclusive  circles  of  society,  was 
purely  artificial  and,  therefore,  in  his  opinion, 
ignoble. 

Mrs.  Lincoln,  when  she  attended  the  theater, 
usually  wore  a  gown  cut  low  in  the  neck,  but 
did  not  wear  full  dress  excepting  at  the  opera. 
Neither  she  nor  the  President  was  a  musician, 
but  both  were  fond  of  listening  to  music.  I 
do  not  think  that  Mrs.  Lincoln  was  in  any 
sense  a  woman  of  strong  literary  tastes,  but 
she  read  the  newspapers  carefully  and  kept 
informed  not  merely  of  the  great  war  then  in 
progress  but  of  changing  political  conditions, 
and  of  important  events  throughout  the  world. 
Those  who  have  thought  her  a  woman  of  almost 
childish  gayety  of  temperament  were  vastly 
mistaken  in  underestimating  this  side  of  her 
character.  She  kept  well  informed  on  many 
subjects,  and  had  very  clear  and  strong  ideas 
concerning  them. 

Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  President  usually  at- 


32     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

tended  the  morning  service  in  Dr.  Gurley's 
church,  which  still  stands  on  New  York 
Avenue  near  the  corner  of  Fourteenth  Street. 
Sometimes  they  would  drive  there,  but  fre 
quently  they  would  walk,  accompanied  by  a 
guard.  They  were  always  punctual  in  atten 
dance,  and  you  may  be  sure  that  Dr.  Gurley 
never  had  to  delay  the  opening  of  his  service 
on  their  account.  They  would  go  to  church 
with  the  simplicity  and  dignity  and  quietness 
of  manner  that  characterized  the  President's 
whole  life.  Out  of  respect  for  the  great  office 
which  he  occupied,  those  who  were  in  the 
church  when  the  President  arrived  would  rise 
from  their  seats  and  remain  standing  until 
he  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  had  passed  down  to  the 
pew  reserved  for  their  use,  well  forward  and 
near  the  pulpit.  At  the  close  of  the  service 
those  constituting  the  congregation  would 
step  out  of  their  pews  into  the  aisles  without 
waiting  for  the  President  of  the  United  States 
to  take  precedence.  Lincoln  and  his  wife 
would  slowly  walk  along,  surrounded  by  the 
others,  exchanging  a  few  words  and  shaking 
hands  with  those  they  knew  or  with  any  who 


Copyright,  1909,  by  Waldon  Fawcett 

The  pulpit  in  "Lincoln's  Church,"  from  the  pew  he  occupied 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  33 

wished  to  speak  to  them.  On  reaching  the 
doors  of  the  church,  the  President  and  Mrs. 
Lincoln  would  go  homeward  as  they  had 
come,  quietly  and  reverently.  Occasionally 
little  Tad  accompanied  his  father  and  mother 
to  church,  but  not  often. 

During  the  time  that  I  was  serving  as 
personal  body-guard  to  Lincoln,  he  and  Mrs. 
Lincoln  usually  dined  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening  —  a  leisurely  meal,  well  cooked,  well 
chosen,  with  special  reference  to  the  Presi 
dent's  dislike  of  elaborate  dishes  and  "  frills  " 
in  general.  In  those  days  the  White  House 
had  no  regularly  employed  housekeeper,  such 
as  has  been  necessary  during  recent  years, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  because  of  the  natural 
evolution  of  social  life  in  this  country,  the 
President's  wife,  whoever  she  may  be,  now  is 
called  upon  to  give  much  of  her  time,  her 
strength,  and  thought  to  entertaining,  - 
largely  semi-official  in  nature,  —  which  was 
unknown  in  Lincoln's  time.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  some  of  the  ladies  who  have  graced  the 
Executive  Mansion  during  the  last  forty 
years  may  have  been  Mrs.  Lincoln's  equal 


34       MEMORIES   OF  THE   WHITE   HOUSE 

as  practical  housekeepers;  but  I  am  sure  that 
none  of  them  was  her  superior.  She  had  a 
steward  to  attend  to  special  duties  which 
would  naturally  fall  to  such  a  person,  but 
she  oversaw  and  directed  everything  herself. 
She  knew  just  what  kinds  of  food  should  be 
provided,  what  cuts  of  various  meats  were 
the  best,  how  vegetables  should  be  prepared, 
how  bread  should  be  made.  And  what  is 
more,  her  cook,  and  her  waiters,  and  her  few 
other  servants,  knew  that  she  knew.  In  con 
sequence,  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  Execu 
tive  Mansion  ran  along  their  way  smoothly 
and  serenely  and  most  comfortably. 

After  dinner,  at  about  eight  o'clock,  the 
President  would  rise  from  the  table  and  go 
at  once  across  to  the  War  Department  to 
get  the  latest  news  from  the  front,  except 
ing  on  Thursday  evenings,  when  he  waited 
until  the  regular  levee  had  been  held.  If  I 
happened  to  be  on  night  duty  I  accompanied 
him,  of  course,  and  while  we  were  absent  for 
an  hour  or  two  hours,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  after 
seeing  that  Tad  was  safe  and  soundly  asleep 
in  his  bed,  would  go  into  the  "living-room," 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  35 

as  the  Red  Room  was  then  called.  Some 
times  she  would  spend  the  evening  in  read 
ing  the  newspapers  of  various  cities  until  the 
President  returned;  but  she  was  not  fond 
of  embroidering,  or  of  other  work  with  the 
needle. 

Generally,  however,  the  wives  of  some 
of  the  Cabinet  Officers  would  drive  to  the 
Executive  Mansion  to  spend  an  informal 
evening.  Occasionally  these  ladies  would  be 
accompanied  by  their  husbands,  but  not  al 
ways,  by  any  means.  For,  let  me  repeat 
again,  those  were  war  times;  war,  with  its 
terrible  news  of  crushing  defeat,  of  death, 
injury,  starvation;  of  discontent  with  the 
Administration  in  many  quarters;  of  appre 
hension  regarding  the  possible  action  of  cer 
tain  foreign  powers. 

Neither  the  President,  nor  the  men  chosen 
as  his  Cabinet  advisers,  could  call  an  hour 
their  own  in  advance  of  its  coming.  Day 
and  night,  night  and  day,  they  were  carry 
ing  a  burden  of  anxiety  almost  of  crushing 
weight.  As  a  result,  the  Cabinet  members 
did  not  often  go  with  their  wives  for  an  in- 


36     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

formal  evening  in  the  old  living-room.  The 
ladies,  however,  seemed  to  enjoy  meeting 
each  other  thus,  and  chatted  about  a  thousand 
things. 

In  cold  weather  there  was  usually  a  com 
fortable  blaze  in  the  big  fireplace,  around 
which  they  would  gather.  But  while  a  fine 
piano  stood  ready  at  hand,  I  do  not  remem 
ber  having  heard  any  music,  vocal  or  instru 
mental,  on  such  occasions.  At  the  time  I 
wondered  why  the  ladies  did  not  play  or 
sing;  but  afterwards  I  understood  that 
music,  with  its  gayety  and  lightness,  is  not 
born  of  periods  of  grief,  and  mourning,  and 
dread.  No,  there  was  nothing  approaching 
hilarity  in  the  White  House  in  those  days; 
all  was  sadness,  for  the  President  and  his 
official  family  and  their  wives  knew  better 
than  any  of  the  public  what  the  country  was 
passing  through,  and  felt  accordingly.  .  .  . 

I  will  amend  that  slightly.  There  was  no 
hilarity  excepting  where  Tad  was  concerned. 
Time  and  time  again  have  I  seen  Tad  sit 
ting  on  his  father's  shoulders,  while  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  galloped  up  and  down  the  long 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  37 

corridor  outside  their  private  apartments,  the 
boy  laughing  and  shouting  with  glee,  and 
the  great,  grave  President,  by  sheer  will-power, 
resolutely  throwing  aside  the  burdens  of  his 
office,  in  order  that  his  little  son  might  share 
the  joys  that  are  childhood's  heritage.  .  .  . 

No  refreshments  were  served  during  the  in 
formal  evenings  spent  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  nor, 
indeed,  were  refreshments  served  at  the  Thurs 
day  evening  levees.  When  ten  o'clock  came, 
or  perhaps  eleven,  the  ladies  would  drive  home 
alone,  unless  their  husbands  were  able  to  come 
for  them,  which  was  sometimes  the  case. 

Then  Mrs.  Lincoln  would  sit  down  alone, 
and  quietly  wait  until  her  husband  should  re 
turn  from  the  War  Department.  At  that  time 
there  were  no  telegraph  wires  in  the  Executive 
Mansion,  and  the  President's  habit  was  to  go 
to  the  War  Building  to  obtain  news  at  first 
hand,  and  to  talk  over  developments  with  the 
Secretary  of  War.  Lincoln  usually  was  able 
to  return  to  his  wife,  waiting  in  the  living- 
room  for  him,  by  eleven  o'clock  or  a  little  later, 
and  he  would  tell  her  the  news  from  the  front. 
They  would  discuss  the  battles,  the  retreats, 


38     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

the  victories,  the  defeats,  —  all  the  main  de 
velopments  of  the  day  and  evening,  —  with 
calm  thoughtfulness,  and  although  they  gen 
erally  finished  this  concluding  part  of  their 
daily  program  shortly  after  midnight,  yet 
sometimes  it  was  quite  late  when  they  could 
.do  so  and  retire. 

As  he  went  upstairs  and  entered  his  own 
room,  Lincoln's  last  act  was  to  turn  to  the 
guard  on  duty  in  the  corridor,  and  wish  him 
good-night.  Then  he  would  enter  his  room, 
and  close  the  door,  and  I --if  it  were  my 
turn  to  stand  guard  —  would  settle  down  for 
eight  hours  of  duty. 

My  chair  stood  in  the  corridor,  within  easy 
reach  of  the  door  opening  into  the  Presi 
dent's  room,  and  so  situated  that  I  could  see 
every  inch  of  the  whole  length  of  the  corri 
dor,  which  was  so  lighted  that  no  shadows 
could  even  partly  conceal  any  one  who  might 
try  to  slip  through  it.  During  most  of  the 
night  I  would  rest  comfortably  in  the  chair, 
constantly  looking  this  way  and  that,  listen 
ing  intently  for  any  unusual  noise.  Every 
once  in  a  while,  however,  I  would  rise  and 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  39 

quietly  pace  up  and  down  to  obtain  rest  of 
position.  I  never  read  a  book  or  a  news 
paper,  of  course,  for  fear  that  my  attention 
might  become  fixed  so  closely  on  the  printed 
page  that  I  might  not  hear  or  see  the  ap 
proach  of  assassins  whom  I  always  expected 
at  any  moment.  Needless  to  say,  I  never 
resorted  to  any  of  the  common  means  for 
keeping  awake  during  those  solitary  vigils. 
The  responsibility  of  guarding  Lincoln  was 
so  great  that  dozing,  or  even  drowsiness,  was 
unthinkable.  And  when  relieved  by  the  day- 
guard,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  was 
always  as  fresh  and  wide  awake  as  when  I 
had  gone  on  duty  twelve  hours  previous. 

The  only  time  that  President  Lincoln  failed 
to  say  good-night  to  me  —  when  we  parted 
after  having  been  together  for  hours  —  was 
on  the  evening  shortly  before  he  started  for 
Ford's  Theater,  where  he  was  murdered.  As 
I  mentioned  on  another  occasion,  some  years 
ago,  Mr.  Lincoln  had  told  me  that  afternoon 
of  a  dream  he  had  had  for  three  successive 
nights,  concerning  his  impending  assassina 
tion.  Of  course,  the  constant  dread  of  such 


40     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

a  calamity  made  me  somewhat  nervous,  and 
I  almost  begged  him  to  remain  in  the  Exec 
utive  Mansion  that  night,  and  not  to  go  to 
the  theater.  But  he  would  not  disappoint 
Mrs.  Lincoln  and  others  who  were  to  be 
present.  Then  I  urged  that  he  allow  me  to 
stay  on  duty  and  accompany  him;  but  he 
would  not  hear  of  this,  either. 

"  No,  Crook,"  he  said,  kindly  but  firmly, 
"  you  have  had  a  long,  hard  day's  work  al 
ready,  and  must  go  home  to  sleep  and  rest. 
I  cannot  afford  to  have  you  get  all  tired  out 
and  exhausted." 

It  was  then  that  he  neglected,  for  the  first 
and  only  time,  to  say  good-night  to  me.  In 
stead,  he  turned,  with  his  kind,  grave  face, 
and  said:  "  Good-bye,  Crook,"  and  went  into 
his  room. 

I  thought  of  it  at  the  moment;  and  a  few 
hours  later,  when  the  awful  news  flashed 
over  Washington  that  he  had  been  shot,  his 
last  words  were  so  burned  into  my  memory 
that  they  never  have  been  forgotten,  and 
never  can  be  forgotten. 


I 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  41 

Although  I  have  already  stated  the  fact  in 
print,  I  wish  to  repeat  it  here,  —  that  when 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  their  party  sat 
down  in  their  box  at  Ford's  Theater  that 
fateful  night,  the  guard  who  was  acting  as 
my  substitute  took  his  position  at  the  rear 
of  the  box,  close  to  an  entrance  leading  into 
the  box  from  the  dress-circle  of  the  theater. 
His  orders  were  to  stand  there,  fully  armed, 
and  to  permit  no  unauthorized  person  to 
pass  into  the  box.  His  orders  were  to  stand 
there  and  protect  the  President  at  all  hazards. 

From  the  spot  where  he  was  thus  stationed, 
this  guard  could  not  see  the  stage  or  the 
actors;  but  he  could  hear  the  words  the  ac 
tors  spoke,  and  he  became  so  interested  in 
them  that,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  he 
quietly  deserted  his  post  of  duty,  and  walk 
ing  down  the  dimly-lighted  side  aisle,  delib 
erately  took  a  seat  in  the  last  row  of  the 
dress-circle. 

It  was  while  the  President  was  thus  abso 
lutely  unprotected  through  this  guard's  amaz 
ing  recklessness  —  to  use  no  stronger  words 
-that   Booth   rushed   through   the   entrance 


42     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

to  the  box,  just  deserted  by  the  guard,  and 
accomplished  his  foul  deed. 

Realization  of  his  part  in  the  assassination 
so  preyed  upon  the  mind  and  spirit  of  the 
guard  that  he  finally  died  as  a  result  of  it. 


II 


THE  HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT 
JOHNSON 

PRESIDENT  JOHNSON'S  home  life  in  the  White 
House  did  not  commence  until  some  time  after 
Mrs.  Lincoln  had  left  there,  in  April,  1865, 
about  three  weeks  after  President  Lincoln 
had  been  assassinated.  Mr.  Johnson  was 
sworn  in  as  President  at  his  rooms  in  the 
Kirkwood  House  by  Chief  Justice  Chase,  and 
for  a  short  time  thereafter  transacted  his 
official  business  in  an  office  in  the  Treasury 
Department.  Before  long  he  took  up  his 
quarters  in  the  White  House,  where  his 
home  life  began  with  the  arrival  of  his  whole 
family  in  August,  1865.  As  a  general  thing, 
when  an  incoming  President  arrives  with  his 
family  at  the  White  House,  he  finds  that 
preparations  for  a  hearty  welcome  and  a  cor 
dial  one  have  been  made  by  the  family  of  the 

43 


44     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

outgoing  President;  but  there  were  none  to 
welcome  President  Johnson's  family  except 
the  servants  and  employees  of  the  household. 

The  day  on  which  they  arrived  I  was  act 
ing  as  a  special  officer  at  the  White  House, 
where,  with  others,  I  had  been  expecting 
them  hour  by  hour.  Everything  possible  for 
the  comfort  of  the  new  President's  family  had 
been  made  ready  by  the  White  House  staff, 
under  the  supervision  of  Steward  Stackpole; 
and  while  all  the  material  comforts  had  been 
looked  after  yet  there  was  lacking  that  little 
thrill  of  human  sympathy  that  can  only  come 
through  cordial  handclasp  and  face  of  smil 
ing  welcome  on  the  part  of  one  woman 
toward  another.  It  was  at  about  noon  of 
that  August  day  when  several  carriages  filled 
with  ladies  and  gentlemen  and  children  drew 
up  at  the  White  House,  and  those  within 
stepped  out  and  entered  the  great  building. 
President  Johnson  was  in  his  office  at  the  time, 
and  on  being  informed  that  the  party  had  ar 
rived  he  went  to  meet  them. 

It  included  Mrs.  Johnson;  her  son,  Colonel 
Robert  Johnson,  then  a  man  of  thirty  or 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    45 

thirty-five;  a  younger  son,  Andrew  Johnson, 
Junior,  a  lad  of  twelve  or  fourteen;  two 
married  daughters  —  Mrs.  Stover,  whose 
husband  was  dead;  a  second  daughter,  Mrs. 
Patterson,  and  her  husband,  Senator  Patter 
son,  of  Tennessee;  together  with  five  grand 
children  —  Mary  Belle  Patterson,  Andrew  J. 
Patterson,  Sarah  Stover,  Lillie  Stover,  and 
Andrew  J.  Stover. 

Mrs.  Johnson,  feeble  from  a  long  illness, 
was  helped  out  of  her  carriage.  Tom  Pendel, 
the  old  doorkeeper,  opened  the  doors,  and 
the  entire  party  went  into  the  White  House, 
being  welcomed  there  by  the  servants  and 
the  other  employees,  and  going  first  into  the 
parlors,  where  they  sat  down  to  rest  for  a 
while.  With  the  exception  of  the  President, 
none  of  those  in  the  party  was  at  all  familiar 
with  the  Executive  Mansion,  excepting  Mrs. 
Patterson,  who  had  been  educated  in  George 
town  as  a  girl  and  had  been  a  frequent  vis 
itor  at  the  White  House  during  the  Polk 
administration.  I  remember  the  whole  scene 
as  clearly  as  if  it  were  yesterday. 

Mrs.  Johnson  was  a  small  woman,  and,  a  vie- 


46      MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

tim  of  old-fashioned  "  consumption  "  for  a  long 
time,  her  weakness  and  emaciation  made  her 
seem  even  smaller  still.  She  walked  slowly, 
and  while  her  face  was  lighted  up  with  in 
terest,  yet  she  betrayed  no  such  enthusiasm 
as  might  have  been  expected  of  almost  any 
woman  under  the  same  circumstances.  Mrs. 
Stover  and  Mrs.  Patterson  were,  on  the  other 
hand,  eager  to  begin  their  new  life,  and  the 
six  children  were  as  excited  as  could  be,  their 
eyes  bright  and  their  cheeks  flushed  with  an 
ticipation  of  events  which  they  could  hardly 
imagine. 

After  resting  quietly  in  the  parlors  for  a 
time  the  entire  party  went  upstairs  to  select 
their  living-rooms.  The  President's  wife,  of 
course,  made  her  personal  choice  first  of  all; 
and,  instead  of  picking  out  for  her  own  use 
one  of  the  great,  spacious  bedrooms,  she 
selected  one  of  the  smallest  rooms,  which  was 
situated  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  White 
House. 

In  those  days  nearly  all  the  furniture  was 
of  mahogany,  most  of  it  the  same  furniture 
that  had  been  used  by  the  Lincoln  adminis- 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    47 

tration.  Under  a  special  appropriation  of 
thirty  thousand  dollars  the  President's  living- 
rooms  and  other  portions  of  the  Executive 
Mansion  were  redecorated  in  accordance  with 
Mrs.  Patterson's  ideas,  and  some  parts,  such  as 
the  East  Room  and  the  Green  Room,  were 
refurnished.  While  the  ladies  of  the  house 
hold  were  surveying  and  selecting  their  rooms, 
trunks  and  other  personal  baggage  arrived  in 
wagons,  and  the  Johnson  family  really  com 
menced  its  home  life  in  the  White  House. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  President's 
wife  was  an  invalid,  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Pat 
terson,  at  once  assumed  charge  of  everything. 
She  consulted  with  her  mother  and  was  ably 
assisted  by  her  sister,  Mrs.  Stover;  but  she 
looked  after  everything  in  a  general  way 
and  gave  directions  for  carrying  out  all  de 
tails  connected  with  the  family  life. 

In  Lincoln's  time  there  were  few  gathered 
around  the  table  in  the  private  dining-room, 
only  the  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  little 
Tad;  but  now  all  was  changed.  At  every 
meal  that  private  dining-room  was  the  scene 
of  liveliness  and  conversation,  for  when  two 


48     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

or  three  men  and  two  ladies  and  six  children 
come  together  around  one  long  table  at  meal 
times,  liveliness  is  to  be  expected.  As  dur 
ing  Lincoln's  administration,  breakfast  was 
served  not  long  after  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  all  were,  as  a  general  thing,  on 
hand  except  Mrs.  Johnson,  who  seldom  ap 
peared  for  the  morning  meal.  Perhaps  there 
was  a  trifle  more  ceremony  than  in  Lincoln's 
time,  but  when  breakfast  was  over  Mr.  John 
son  would  always  remain  for  a  little  while, 
talking  with  his  sons  and  his  daughters  and 
his  grandchildren  and  his  son-in-law,  Senator 
Patterson,  and  then  would  invariably  spend 
a  short  time  chatting  with  his  wife  before 
proceeding  to  his  office  for  the  transaction  of 
business. 

Beginning  with  the  first  morning  after  they 
arrived,  there  was  an  instant  change  in  the 
very  atmosphere  of  the  Executive  Mansion, 
as  could  hardly  have  been  otherwise  when 
one  remembers  that  into  it  had  come  six 
hearty,  healthy  children,  full  of  fun  and 
laughter,  the  eldest  being  a  boy  not  over 
fourteen.  The  last  one  alluded  to,  Andrew 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    49 

Johnson,  Junior,  attended  one  of  the  public 
schools  in  Washington;  and  those  of  the 
grandchildren  who  were  old  enough  studied 
under  the  direction  of  a  teacher  who  visited 
the  White  House  every  morning,  although 
this  part  of  their  education  was  carefully 
supervised  by  their  mothers.  Luncheon  was 
served  at  one  o'clock  and  dinner  at  seven. 

Mrs.  Johnson  usually  spent  most  of  her 
time  on  the  floor  on  which  were  the  living- 
rooms.  The  greater  part  of  each  day  she 
remained  in  her  own  room,  seated  in  a  little 
rocking-chair  which  she  found  most  comfort 
able,  busying  herself  with  needlework  and 
reading.  She  was  a  woman  of  strong,  force 
ful  character  and  of  decided  literary  tastes. 
She  did  not  care  especially  for  works  of  fic 
tion,  and  most  of  the  books  she  read  were  of 
a  serious  nature.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
while  her  husband  had  taught  himself  to 
read,  she  actually  had  taught  him  to  write 
after  they  were  married,  and  it  was  some 
years  later  —  when  he  was  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  —  that  he  first  was 
able  to  use  a  pen  with  ease  and  fluency. 


50     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Despite  her  afflictions  Mrs.  Johnson  was  a 
woman  of  far  more  than  usual  power  —  but 
hers  was  the  power  of  the  spirit  and  the 
mind,  rather  than  of  the  body.  She  was  quiet 
and  calm,  but  absolutely  inflexible  when  it 
came  to  a  matter  of  principle,  and  through 
out  her  husband's  life  she  exercised  a  very 
great  influence  upon  him. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  the  ideal  mar 
riage  is  that  wherein  two  individual  souls  and 
minds  are  merged  as  one.  The  nearest  ap 
proach  to  such  a  state  that  I  have  ever  seen 
and  known  was  in  the  case  of  Andrew  John 
son  and  his  wife.  And  yet  they  were  as 
unlike  each  other  temperamentally  as  it  was 
possible  for  two  human  beings  to  be. 

From  the  time  his  father  died  Andrew  John 
son  made  an  unceasing  fight  throughout  a 
stormy  life.  At  the  age  of  ten  years,  as  a  little 
boy,  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  tailor,  and  even 
then  began  his  unending  struggle.  Being  en 
dowed  with  a  strong  personality  and  a  resolute 
will,  possessing  confidence  in  his  own  ability  to 
battle  with  the  world,  Johnson  had  fought 
his  way  upward,  step  by  step.  A  man  of 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    51 

intensely  strong  convictions,  it  was  impossible 
to  move  him  when  he  believed  that  his  posi 
tion  was  the  right  position,  and  he  would 
maintain  it  with  a  vehemence  that  at  times 
almost  reached  the  point  of  violence.  Fear 
less  of  everything  and  of  everybody,  he  would 
stand  his  ground,  if  necessary,  against  the 
whole  world.  It  will  be  remembered,  as 
Senator  O.  P.  Morton,  of  Indiana,  said: 
"  Andrew  Johnson  was  the  only  member  of 
Congress  from  the  South  who  resisted  the 
wave  of  'secession  that  was  then  sweeping 
over  the  South,  and  stood  faithful  to  the 
Union." 

And  a  man  who  represented  a  Southern 
Congressional  district  and  who  faced,  single- 
handed  and  alone,  the  storm  of  secession  that 
swept  over  his  State,  could  not  have  been 
other  than  a  man  of  indomitable  purpose. 
Yet,  in  the  marrow  of  his  heart,  in  the  core 
of  his  judgment,  he  turned  to  and  leaned 
upon  and  was  constantly  influenced  by  a  frail 
little  woman,  so  weak  that  she  had  to  have 
breakfast  in  her  room,  so  feeble  that  she 
spent  most  of  her  time  in  her  little  rocking- 


52     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

chair;  yet,  withal,  a  woman  whose  soul  was 
so  pure,  whose  heart  was  so  tender,  that  she 
possessed  a  vision  truer  and  sounder  and 
keener  than  that  of  her  rugged,  powerful 
husband  who  had  spent  his  whole  life  in  the 
heat  of  conflict  with  the  great  world  —  a 
conflict  of  which  she  knew  little  from  her 
own  experience.  - 

Though  the  home  life  of  President  John 
son's  family  was  largely  regulated  by  Mrs. 
Patterson,  nevertheless  the  mainspring  of  the 
whole  establishment  was  Mrs.  Johnson  her 
self.  She  cared  little  for  outward  show,  as 
can  be  understood  by  what  has  been  said 
already;  and  even  before  her  husband's 
troublous  days  came  —  during  impeachment 
proceedings  -  - 1  am  quite  sure  that  she 
would  have  much  preferred  to  go  back  to 
their  Tennessee  home  and  there  live  in  such 
quietude  as  her  husband's  temperament  would 
permit;  in  fact,  she  told  me  so,  more  than 
once. 

"  Crook,"  she  would  say,  "  it 's  all  very 
well  for  those  who  like  it  —  but  I  do  not  like 
this  public  life  at  all.  I  often  wish  the  time 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    53 

would  come  when  we  could  return  to  where 
I  feel  we  best  belong." 

Yes,  President  Johnson's  wife  was  essen 
tially  a  motherly  old  lady,  in  all  her  thoughts, 
in  all  her  actions,  in  all  her  wishes;  a  sweet, 
lovable  woman  who  had  spent  her  days  look 
ing  after  her  husband  and  her  children  and 
who  had  taken  to  her  heart  a/id  into  her  very 
soul  the  five  grandchildren.  If  anything 
made  her  at  all  resigned  to  residing  in  the 
White  House  it  was  because  there  she  could 
have  with  her,  every  day,  her  entire  family. 

Of  course,  she  appreciated  to  the  full  the 
exalted  position  her  husband  occupied  by 
virtue  of  his  office;  perhaps,  because  her  in 
tellectual  powers  were  so  wide,  she  may  even 
have  understood  this  better  than  he.  But 
first  and  foremost,  as  I  have  tried  to  indicate, 
she  was  a  motherly,  dear  old  lady,  deeply 
interested  in  her  husband's  career,  desirous 
for  her  children's  welfare,  and,  as  is  gener 
ally  the  case  with  a  grandmother,  positively 
anxious  that  right  ideas  of  thought  and  con 
duct  should  be  instilled  in  her  grandchildren. 

Although  the  President's  wife  never  told  me 


54     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

so,  in  so  many  words,  yet  I  think  that  one 
of  her  keenest  regrets  in  connection  with  liv 
ing  in  the  White  House  was  that  she  could  n't 
slip  down  into  the  kitchen  whenever  she  felt 
like  it,  and  bake  a  batch  of  ginger  cookies 
for  the  little  folks.  Despite  her  illness,  Mrs. 
Johnson  was  always  cheerful,  and  always 
loved  to  have  ,the  grandchildren  with  her, 
especially  Belle  Patterson,  who  was  a  really 
beautiful  child.  Whenever  she  was  able  to 
see  friends  who  called  she  did  so,  but  as  a 
general  thing  she  saw  only  a  very  few 
persons. 

Mrs.  Patterson  attended  to  practically  all  her 
mother's  correspondence,  excepting  that  which 
was  handled  in  the  Executive  Office.  This,  by 
the  way,  was  very  heavy  at  times.  The  wife  of 
every  President  receives  a  great  many  letters 
from  people  who  are  utter  strangers,  begging 
her  to  use  her  influence  with  her  husband  to 
secure  appointments  to  minor  offices,  or  other 
favors.  Of  course  the  President's  wife  seldom 
sees  these  appeals.  They  are  opened  by  her 
secretary,  who  then  transmits  them  to  the 
Executive  Office,  as  they  are  in  the  nature  of 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    55 

official  business.  At  the  time  of  President 
Johnson's  administration  Mrs.  Patterson,  in 
addition  to  all  her  other  duties,  relieved  her 
mother  of  such  annoyances. 

After  having  breakfast  in  her  room,  Mrs. 
Johnson  usually  would  look  through  the  living 
quarters  of  the  President's  family,  stopping 
here  or  there  to  rest,  and  sometimes  calling  upon 
her  husband  in  his  office  if  she  wanted  to  see  him 
about  anything.  In  those  days,  as  most  of  us 
remember  who  are  beyond  middle  age,  suffer 
ers  from  consumption  were  kept  indoors  most 
of  the  time,  instead  of  being  urged  to  live  in 
the  open  air  day  and  night  as  at  present.  The 
grandchildren,  as  soon  as  their  lessons  were 
over,  would  make  a  bee  line  for  her  little  room, 
where  the  dear  old  lady  would  be  awaiting  them, 
one  eye  on  the  stockings  she  was  darning  or  the 
mittens  she  was  knitting,  the  other  eye  on  the 
clock,  and  both  ears  keyed  in  anticipation  of 
hearing  light  footsteps  dancing  along  the  corri 
dor  toward  her  room.  To  the  children  of  Mrs. 
Patterson  and  Mrs.  Stover  there  was  nobody 
on  earth  like  "  Grandpa  "  and  "  Grandma," 
and  of  course  they  were  too  young  to  under- 


56      MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

stand  the  full  dignity  and  importance  of  the 
President's  position.  They  were  healthy, 
hearty,  romping  youngsters,  full  of  fun  and 
mischief;  but  here  I  wish  to  say  that  in  all  my 
own  long  life  I  have  never  seen  anything  ap 
proaching  the  good  feeling  which  existed  be 
tween  the  two  sets  of  children.  It  is  a  literal 
fact  that  while  they  were  in  the  White  House 
they  never  had  any  disputes.  This  may  sound 
extraordinary  —  it  is  extraordinary  —  but  it 
is  true. 

I  often  wondered  in  those  days  why  it  was,  or 
how  it  was,  that  the  five  grandchildren  could  get 
along  so  happily  and  without  dispute  or  dis 
cussion.  But  when  I  grew  older  and  learned 
something  of  the  influences  that  unconsciously 
affect  human  nature  deeply  and  permanently, 
I  became  convinced  that  the  Stover  and  the 
Patterson  boys  and  girls  lived  so  happily  and 
joyously  simply  because  of  their  beloved 
Grandma. 

In  truth  she  never  disputed,  never  quar 
reled  with  any  one,  because  she  was  so  calm 
and  peaceful;  and  because  she  had  been  so 
throughout  all  her  long  life,  during  which  her 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    57 

own  children  had  grown  up  and  had  been  influ 
enced  by  her,  they,  in  turn,  had  passed  on  this 
happy,  peaceful  habit  of  life  to  their  children, 
to  whom  I  am  referring  particularly.  If  the 
grandchildren  wanted  to  go  into  the  President's 
office  at  any  time  they  went  right  along,  with 
out  asking  permission,  and  they  were  always 
welcome  there.  Many  a  time  have  I  known  the 
President  to  be  receiving  visitors,  when  two  or 
three  or  four  or  five  youngsters  would  come 
skipping  through  the  corridor  and  bob  into  the 
office  without  ceremony;  and  "  Grandpa  "  was 
always  glad  to  see  them  and  to  make  much  of 
them.  Moreover,  he  expected  his  visitors  of 
the  moment  to  make  much  of  them  also. 

This  is  one  side  of  President  Johnson's  char 
acter,  by  the  way,  that  may  not  generally  be 
understood.  Although  his  life  of  fighting  for 
a  career,  for  principles  that  made  a  career  pos 
sible,  had  developed  him  into  a  stern,  forbid 
ding,  uncompromising  man,  yet  in  private  life 
Mr.  Johnson  was  rather  a  pleasant  man  to  be 
associated  with.  When  he  was  with  his  chil 
dren  or  his  grandchildren  he  relaxed,  and  re 
lapsed  into  what  must  have  been  his  endowment 


58     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

by  nature  —  a  genial,  happy  man  for  the  hour 
—  until  official  duties  called  him  away  from  his 
family  circle. 

For  his  invalid  wife  Mr.  Johnson  mani 
fested  in  many  ways  his  real  and  abiding  love. 
He  was  tender,  considerate,  anxious  about  her 
as  few  understood  at  the  time ;  and  Mrs.  John 
son  more  than  returned  such  feeling.  She  was, 
of  course,  very  proud  of  him,  for  she  knew  how 
much  harder  he  had  been  obliged  to  fight  for 
eminence  than  if  he  had  been  born  under  other 
circumstances,  and  because  he  had  won  with 
such  a  handicap  of  poverty  and  lack  of  educa 
tion,  she  was  all  the  prouder  of  him.  She  was 
always  solicitous  for  his  comfort,  telling  Mrs. 
Patterson  what  he  ought  to  have  in  the  way  of 
food,  and  how  he  liked  to  have  this  dish  and 
that  prepared,  although  Mrs.  Patterson  un 
doubtedly  knew  her  father's  tastes  and  looked 
out  for  them. 

Mrs.  Johnson  always  asked  about  his  room, 
and  invariably  went  every  day  to  it  to  make 
sure  that  it  was  in  order  as  her  husband  liked 
to  have  it,  with  everything  in  its  proper  place. 
And  she  was  especially  careful  about  the  Pres- 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    59 

ident's  personal  appearance,  having  realized 
long  years  before  the  importance  of  this.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  Mr.  Johnson  himself  was  par 
ticular  to  the  point  of  fastidiousness  about  his 
dress,  always  wearing,  when  I  knew  him,  a 
frock  coat  and  a  high,  standing  collar,  well- 
fitting  shoes  or  boots  and  carefully-cut  trou 
sers.  But  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  in  his 
years  of  early  manhood,  when  he  first  was 
married,  he  could  not  have  been  so  particular, 
and  that  Mrs.  Johnson's  solicitous  regard  dur 
ing  the  later  years  was  a  matter  of  long  habit. 
Mrs.  Johnson's  ideas  as  to  the  importance 
of  proper  dress  were  shown  in  her  own  case. 
She  never  wore  extravagant  clothing,  but  she 
always  wore  clothing  of  rich,  expensive  mate 
rial,  very  simply  but  becomingly  made.  She 
knew  the  difference  in  fabrics  and  had  ex 
cellent  judgment  as  to  them;  and  she  em 
ployed  the  best  dressmakers  in  Washington. 
Whenever  she  appeared  in  a  new  gown  that 
was  especially  pleasing,  the  President's  eyes 
would  light  up  with  pleasure  and  he  would 
speak  approvingly  of  it.  Whereupon,  being 
the  dearest  of  old  ladies,  his  wife  would  re- 


60     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

turn  an  answering  smile  and  pat  him  on  the 
shoulder  —  just  once,  but  enough  to  repay 
him  for  his  compliment. 

Mrs.  Johnson  was  solicitous  not  merely  for 
the  members  of  her  own  family  circle  but  for 
every  one  around  her.  Soon  after  arriving 
at  the  White  House  she  gave  instructions 
through  Mrs.  Patterson  that  she  was  to  be 
informed  whenever  any  of  the  servants  or 
other  employees  of  the  Executive  Mansion 
were  ill,  or  in  other  trouble,  or  suffering  be 
reavement.  And  until  the  day  she  left  there 
she  invariably  looked  after  any  who  were  suf 
fering. 

Her  considerate  kindness  to  those  who  were 
in  distress  was  unusual.  She  would  send  not 
merely  inquiries  and  words  of  cheer,  but  deli 
cacies  of  all  kinds,  and  flowers  and  personal 
messages,  with  regret  that  the  state  of  her 
own  health  prevented  her  from  actively  look 
ing  after  their  needs.  She  was  a  good  woman, 
a  true  Christian  woman,  although  she  was 
not  a  member  of  any  particular  church,  so 
far  as  I  know,  nor  could  she  have  attended 
services  if  she  had  been.  Perhaps  it  was  due 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    61 

to  her  influence  more  than  to  any  other  that 
President  Johnson  never  used  tobacco  in  any 
form,  and  seldom  touched  alcoholic  beverages. 
I  never  knew  him  to  go  to  the  theater. 

The  President  was  a  very  busy  man  —  next 
to  Mr.  Cleveland,  perhaps,  the  hardest  worker 
who  lived  in  the  White  House  during  my 
forty-five  years'  experience  there.  He  was 
in  excellent  health,  but  seldom  took  any  ex 
ercise  except  when  he  would  drive  out  into 
the  country,  and  there,  alighting  from  his 
carriage,  walk  up  and  down  for  an  hour,  his 
hands  clasped  back  of  him,  while  he  thought 
out  his  policies  and  planned  this  measure  or 
that  line  of  action. 

On  other  occasions  he  would  take  out  to 
Rock  Creek  Park  —  a  favorite  place  for  rec 
reation  —  his  son  Andrew  and  the  five  grand 
children;  and  there  on  a  grassy  slope  the 
little  folks  would  remove  shoes  and  stockings 
and  go  wading  in  the  soft  water,  looking  for 
little  fishes,  trying  to  catch  water-bugs  or 
frogs,  and  having  the  best  of  good  times, 
especially  when  Grandpa  joined  them  in  a 
contest  as  to  who  could  skip  stones  the  far- 


62     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

thest  and  with  the  greatest  number  of  skips. 
Better  than  almost  any  other  memory  of 
President  Johnson  I  like  to  recall  such  pleas 
ant  afternoons  when,  for  the  moment,  he  and 
the  little  folks  were  all  young  together. 

The  usual  state  dinners  were  given  during 
Mr.  Johnson's  administration,  but  Mrs.  Pat 
terson  presided  at  them  in  place  of  her 
mother.  The  Thursday  evening  levees  were 
also  held  for  such  of  the  public  as  wished 
to  attend  and  meet  the  President.  Mrs. 
Johnson  was  present  at  two  public  receptions, 
but  she  had  to  sit  down  for  a  part  of  each 
evening  while  the  guests  were  passing  by  in 
the  long  line.  The  men  and  women  attend 
ing  the  levees  during  the  Johnson  adminis 
tration  generally  wore  evening  dress,  although 
some  occasionally  appeared  in  plain  clothing; 
and  while  a  good  many  were  present  each 
Thursday  evening,  the  people  did  not  seem 
to  come  with  the  remarkable  evidence  of 
personal  affection  for  the  President  that  had 
been  shown  by  those  who  attended  levees  dur 
ing  Mr.  Lincoln's  time. 

It  always  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  no 
such  cordiality  shown  by  Mr.  Johnson  as  was 


Andrew  Johnson 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT   JOHNSON    63 

shown  by  his  predecessor  on  sueh  occasions. 
In  the  first  place,  President  Johnson,  though 
greatly  loved  and  admired  by  some,  was  just 
as  strongly  disliked,  even  hated,  by  others  - 
this,  of  course,  because  of  his  positive,  asser 
tive,  well-nigh  belligerent  temperament  and 
attitude. 

And  then,  again,  it  must  be  remem 
bered  that  he  was  in  immediate  contrast  with 
not  merely  one  of  the  most  remarkable  Presi 
dents  we  have  ever  had,  but  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  men  whom  history  records  —  a 
man  who  was  so  great  in  vision,  so  noble,  so 
generous  of  heart  and  spirit,  that  every  one 
who  met  him  loved  him.  Mr.  Johnson's  sup 
porters  were  loyal  and  came  to  the  levees, 
but  these  receptions  were  not  attended  by  all 
who  could  be  present,  irrespective  of  whether 
they  accepted  and  indorsed  his  political  poli 
cies,  as  was  the  case  in  Lincoln's  time. 

It  was  not  deemed  necessary  for  President 
Johnson  to  be  accompanied  by  personal  body 
guards,  as  President  Lincoln  had  been,  for 
the  war  was  over,  and  while  times  of  tumult 
were  not  entirely  gone,  yet  the  positive  en- 


64     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

mity  had  begun  to  disappear  between  North 
and  South  —  more  rapidly,  perhaps,  than 
would  have  been  the  case  but  for  the  tremen 
dous,  sobering  shock  caused  by  Wilkes 
Booth's  dastardly  crime.  When  the  new 
President  first  took  up  his  duties,  soldiers 
were  stationed  in  front  of  the  Executive 
Mansion  and  at  its  rear;  but  these  uniformed 
men  merely  acted  as  sentries  and  were  soon 
withdrawn;  after  which  none  guarded  the 
President  or  the  White  House  except  such 
special  officers  as  acted  in  the  capacity  of 
watchmen.  It  so  happened  that  I  was  selected 
to  accompany  President  Johnson  whenever 
he  went  to  any  formal  affair  —  such  as  a 
cornerstone-laying  or  the  unveiling  of  a  mon 
ument  —  during  his  entire  administration, 
excepting  the  time  when  he  made  his  "  swing 
around  the  circle,"  in  the  course  of  which 
he  visited  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Albany, 
Cleveland,  Chicago,  and  so  on.  But  I  never 
regarded  my  duties  as  being  those  of  a  per 
sonal  guard  to  President  Johnson  in  the  sense 
that  I  had  felt  responsibility  for  Mr.  Lincoln's 
safety. 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    65 

President  Johnson  came  back  from  this 
extended  tour  the  most  unpopular  man  in 
the  country;  venomously  attacked  by  his 
political  enemies,  ridiculed  and  lampooned 
by  opposition  newspapers.  Many  people, 
hitherto  undecided  in  their  opinion  of  him, 
swiftly  were  growing  to  believe  that  he  was 
a  man  to  be  suspected  of  almost  any  personal 
designs. 

Of  this  hostile  feeling  both  he  and  Mrs. 
Johnson  were  well  aware,  and  I  think  that 
Mrs.  Stover  and  Mrs.  Patterson  understood 
it,  for  certainly  Senator  Patterson  kept  in 
formed  of  every  development.  But  to  me  the 
remarkable  thing  was  that  in  spite  of  con 
stantly  increasing  anxiety  neither  the  Presi 
dent  nor  his  wife  seemed  to  show  any  fear 
as  to  the  final  outcome.  The  daily  routine 
was  unbroken  at  the  White  House;  there 
was  the  same  calmness  and  cheerfulness  about 
the  family  life;  and  knowing,  as  I  did,  what 
was  going  on,  and  the  storm  that  was  threat 
ening  the  President,  I  marveled  at  it. 

Now,  however,  I  can  see,  as  I  have  seen 
for  many  years,  that  the  uninterrupted  calm, 


66     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

the  undisturbed  peacefulness   of  the   family, 
was    due    primarily    to    the    deeply    reverent 
spirit  of  Mrs.  Johnson,  who  was  absolutely 
convinced  of  her  husband's  desire  to  do  what 
was  right,  even  though  he  might  be  mistaken. 
She  seemed  to  feel  that  in  the  end  an  all- 
wise   Providence   would   bring   order   out   of 
what  was  approaching  political  chaos.     Sure 
of  her  husband's  desire  to  do  his  best  for  the 
country,  she  was  equally  sure  that  right  would 
prevail,  and  even  during  the  long  weeks  of 
the  impeachment  proceedings  —  lasting  from 
March  23  to  May  16,  when  the  verdict  was 
rendered  —  she  never  lost  courage,  not  for  an 
hour. 

I  was  in  the  Capitol  that  sixteenth  day 
of  May,  anxiously  waiting  for  the  verdict. 
When  the  acquittal  of  the  President  was  an 
nounced  I  sprang  down  the  steps,  ran  the 
whole  length  of  Pennsylvania  Avenue  at  top 
speed  and  rushed  up  to  the  White  House 
library,  where  the  President  and  a  few  inti 
mate  supporters  had  gathered,  to  tell  him  the 
news.  It  is  a  pleasure  now  to  recall  that 
after  delivering  the  message  to  Mr.  Johnson 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    67 

I  hurried  from  the  library  to  that  little  bed 
room  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Executive 
Mansion. 

Hardly  had  I  knocked  on  the  door  when 
I  was  told  to  come  in.  There  sat  Mrs.  John 
son  in  her  rocking-chair,  her  busy  hands  hold 
ing  some  sewing. 

As  I  stepped  through  the  doorway,  some 
what  excited,  no  doubt,  she  looked  up  with 
her  gentle  smile  of  welcome,  and  was  about 
to  ask  a  question;  but  I  could  not  restrain 
myself. 

"  He  's  acquitted!  "  I  cried;  "  the  President 
is  acquitted!  " 

Then  the  frail  little  lady  —  who  looked 
frailer  than  ever  —  rose  from  her  chair  and 
in  both  her  emaciated  hands  took  my  right 
hand.  Tears  were  in  her  eyes,  but  her  voice 
was  firm  and  she  did  not  tremble  once  as  she 
said: 

"  Crook,  I  knew  he  'd  be  acquitted;  I  knew 
it.  ...  Thank  you  for  coming  to  tell  me." 

That  was  all  she  said,  and  I  left  a  moment 
later;  but  I  shall  never  forget  the  picture  of 
that  feeble,  wasted  little  woman  standing  so 


68     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

proudly  and  assuring  me  so  positively  that 
she  had  never  doubted  for  one  instant  that 
her  beloved  husband  would  be  proved  inno 
cent  of  the  terrible  charges  that  had  been 
brought  against  him. 

And  I  wish  to  say  here  and  now  that  not 
withstanding  his  temperamental  shortcomings 
there  never  was  a  more  truly  patriotic  Presi 
dent  in  the  White  House  than  Andrew 
Johnson. 

One  pleasant  feature  of  President  John 
son's  family  life  in  the  Executive  Mansion 
that  I  like  to  recall  to  my  own  children  is 
that  of  the  egg-rolling  on  Easter  Monday. 
Then,  as  now,  this  celebration  of  the  coming 
of  springtime  was  considered  a  great  event 
by  all  the  boys  and  girls  in  Washington  who 
were  so  fortunate  as  to  be  present.  On  the 
afternoon  previous,  the  White  House  kitchen 
would  be  invaded  by  the  youngsters  of  the 
President's  family,  who  would  have  the  mer 
riest  of  times  dyeing  dozens  and  dozens  of 
eggs,  which  would  finally  be  put  away  safely 
for  the  next  day's  festivities.  And  when  the 
next  day  came  the  long  slopes  to  the  south 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    69 

of  the  big  building  would  be  invaded  by  a 
host  of  little  folks  who  would  roll  their  eggs 
down  the  inclines  as  their  successors  do  at 
present. 

On  Easter  Monday  Mrs.  Johnson  would 
come  downstairs  and  sit  in  the  portico,  shel 
tered  from  the  winds,  where  she  could  see  all 
the  fun  and  hear  the  shouts  of  laughter;  and 
I  am  sure  that  nobody  enjoyed  the  egg-rolling 
more  than  she.  After  it  was  over  she  would 
return  to  her  room  and  her  rocking-chair. 

Then  the  great  East  Room  would  be  thrown 
open  and  many  of  the  children  would  troop 
in  there  for  an  unrestrained  romp.  The  door 
keeper  would  use  his  judgment  as  to  those 
whom  he  admitted,  and  generally  he  admitted 
a  host,  especially  all  the  many  friends  of  the 
little  folks  belonging  to  the  President's  family. 
They  would  race  up  and  down  the  great 
room,  singing,  shouting,  playing  games  of 
every  kind  that  could  be  played  indoors. 

Mrs.  Patterson  and  Mrs.  Stover,  and  per 
haps  two  or  three  other  ladies,  would  be 
present;  and  sitting  upstairs  in  her  little  rock 
ing-chair,  Mrs.  Johnson  would  hear  and  re 
joice  in  the  childish  voices  below. 


70     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

The  first  children's  party  ever  held  in  the 
White  House  was  given  during  President 
Johnson's  term,  on  the  evening  of  December 
29,  1868  —  the  President's  birthday  anniver 
sary.  Young  people  of  to-day  may  be  inter 
ested  in  the  facsimiles  herewith  reproduced 
of  the  invitation  and  the  engraved  order  of 
dancing.  Nowadays  we  would  call  such  an 
event  a  children's  dancing  party,  perhaps,  or 
by  some  name  other  than  the  rather  grandil 
oquent  Juvenile  Soiree. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  engraved  cards 
stated  that  the  invitation  was  given  by  "  The 
Children  of  the  President's  Family,"  so,  of 
course,  each  of  the  grandchildren  played  an 
equal  part  with  the  President's  son  as  host  or 
hostess.  One  point  that  will  be  noticed  was 
that  the  little  guests  were  bidden  to  appear 
at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening;  and  a  very 
sensible  thing,  too.  I  am  sure  they  enjoyed 
it  all  the  more  because  they  could  come  early 
and  go  home  before  their  flying  bodies  and 
active  brains  were  tired  out  by  late  hours. 

As  may  be  imagined,  the  rooms  where  the 
young  guests  danced  and  made  merry  were 


I 


Invitation  and  Order  of  Dancing  of  a  Juvenile  Soiree 
given  by  President  Johnson's  children 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    71 

beautifully  decorated  with  flowers.  The  great 
chandeliers  were  ablaze  with  lights,  the  music 
was  the  best  of  its  kind,  and  the  refreshments 
were  all  that  could  be  desired  and  digested. 

I  suppose  that,  compared  with  some  of  the 
most  lavish  children's  parties  given  in  recent 
years  by  very  wealthy  families  of  Boston, 
New  York,  or  Chicago,  this  first  Juvenile 
Soiree  held  at  the  White  House  forty-three 
years  ago  might  not  be  considered  an  elabo 
rate  affair.  But  old  fellows  like  myself,  and 
even  such  of  the  little  guests  of  that  evening 
as  are  living  to-day,  can  still  look  back  to  it 
as  a  marvel  of  social  elegance,  even  of  ques 
tionable  extravagance.  For  in  those  days  the 
child  had  not  wholly  come  into  his  own. 

Nowadays,  my  young  friends  tell  me,  chil 
dren  dance  the  two-step  and  the  waltz  almost 
exclusively;  and  perhaps  some  of  you  who 
study  the  order  of  dancing  for  the  Juvenile 
Soiree,  here  reproduced,  may  wonder  what 
the  Esmeralda  was,  and  the  Varsovienne,  the 
Basket  Quadrille,  and  the  Quadrille  Sociable! 
You  will  see  in  the  dance  order  only  one 
waltz  number. 


72     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Finally  came  the  first  week  in  March,  as 
it  comes  to  all  presidential  administrations  - 
the  opening  week  of  March,  1869.  Grant 
was  to  be  inaugurated,  Johnson  was  to  go  out ; 
and  the  staff  of  the  Executive  Mansion  were 
looking  forward  to  new  things,  to  changes, 
to  a  varying  routine  in  this  and  that.  For 
more  than  forty-six  years  I  have  been  con 
tinuously  on  duty  at  the  White  House,  in 
length  of  service  outdating  any  other  man  now 
living;  and  yet  I  feel  a  real  sadness  as  the 
time  draws  near  for  one  President  to  leave 
and  another  to  come  in;  for  I  have  been 
treated  invariably  with  a  kindness  as  well  as 
with  consideratic  n  to  which  my  subordinate 
duties  certainly  h:ive  not  entitled  me. 

The  first  few  days  of  that  March,  1869, 
were  busy  ones  for  all  of  us  who  had  some 
thing  to  do  with  the  personal  side  of  the 
Johnson  family.  There  was  the  packing  of 
trunks,  the  gathering  of  personal  belongings, 
the  packing  of  boxes  containing  presents 
given  members  of  the  family  by  friends  all 
over  the  country;  and  then,  late  in  the  even 
ing  of  March  3,  the  departure  of  all  but 


HOME  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON    73 

President  Johnson  and  Mrs.  Patterson,  who 
remained  overnight  in  the  Executive  Man 
sion.  The  others  went  directly  to  the  resi 
dence  of  John  F.  Coyle,  one  of  the  editors 
and  owners  of  the  old  National  Intelligencer, 
a  short  distance  away,  where  they  stayed  but 
for  a  few  days  before  returning  to  Tennessee, 
where  they  tried  to  settle  down.  Notwith 
standing  her  feebleness,  Mrs.  Johnson  out 
lived  her  husband  for  about  a  year,  and  every 
one  of  the  others  except  Andrew  Patterson 
is  now  laid  to  rest. 


Ill 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  PRESIDENT 
GRANT 

THE  home  life  of  President  Grant  and  his 
family  in  the  White  House  was  distinctly 
unlike  that  of  his  two  immediate  predeces 
sors,  President  Johnson  and  President  Lin 
coln.  To  those  of  us  who  were  actively 
engaged  in  the  daily  doings  of  the  Executive 
Mansion  —  whether  of  stations  higher  or 
lower  in  point  of  responsibility --there  never 
could  be  duplicated,  of  course,  the  wonderful 
atmosphere  compelled  by  Lincoln's  personal 
ity --radiant  with  hope  even  in  the  darkest 
days  of  the  war;  suffused  with  a  love  for 
mankind  so  universal  that  it  was  almost  god 
like;  trembling  with  tenderness,  yet  firm  as 
the  everlasting  hills  when  arose  questions  of 
right  or  wrong. 

Furthermore,   in   the   second   place,   all   of 

74 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          75 

us  whose  lives  centered  in  and  around  the 
Executive  Office  sincerely  hoped  that  never 
again  would  we  experience  the  turmoil  and 
suspicion  which  made  of  the  President's  office 
an  uncomfortable,  seething  cauldron  during 
Mr.  Johnson's  unhappy  administration.  And 
in  this  respect  our  hopes  were  almost  wholly 
carried  out. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  by  those  un 
familiar  with  official  Washington,  that  in 
many  respects  the  home  life  of  a  President's 
family  in  the  White  House  is  in  great  meas 
ure  like  the  home  life  of  a  gentleman's  family 
anywhere  else.  Sometimes,  owing  to  a  matter 
of  temperament,  this  President  or  that  one 
has  permitted  the  official  side  of  his  experi 
ence  to  influence,  even  more  or  less  to  intrude 
upon,  his  family  routine.  But  Grant  was 
determined,  from  the  hour  he  arrived  at  the 
White  House  as  President,  to  keep  his  official 
life  distinct  and  as  far  apart  as  possible  from 
his  home  life.  He  felt  that  no  matter  how 
exalted  was  the  office  to  which  he  had  been 
elected,  he  had  a  right  to  his  own  family  life; 
and  he  maintained  it  successfully. 


76     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

This  was  easier  for  him,  perhaps,  for  the 
reason  that  he  and  Mrs.  Grant  were  accus 
tomed  to  White  House  affairs  and  White 
House  etiquette  before  they  went  there  to 
reside.  It  will  be  remembered  that  from  the 
close  of  the  war,  and  until  the  day  of  his  in 
auguration,  General  Grant  had  his  head 
quarters  in  Washington,  and  with  his  family 
resided  in  a  brick  dwelling  on  I  Street,  near 
New  Jersey  Avenue,  which  is  still  standing. 

During  the  Johnson  administration,  Grant 
stayed  in  the  city,  attending  strictly  to  his 
duties,  never  going  away  to  make  campaign 
speeches  or  other  addresses  in  the  hope  that 
by  such  means  his  political  prominence  would 
be  increased.  In  common  with  all  good  men 
and  true,  General  Grant  liked  to  have  the 
good  opinion  of  his  fellow  citizens  rather  than 
their  ill-will  or  even  suspicion.  But  he  never 
sought  it  by  any  of  the  familiar  means  em 
ployed  from  time  immemorial  by  cheap  poli 
ticians. 

As  has  frequently  been  said  of  a  famous 
British  general,  so  it  may  be  said  of  Grant 
—  he  did  n't  have  to  "  advertise."  Because  of 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          77 

his  inherent  greatness,  evidenced  by  the  deeds 
he  had  wrought,  he  was  a  world  figure  —  al 
though  one  would  never  get  that  idea  from  his 
manner;  and  I  doubt  if  he  ever  realized  it 
to  the  day  of  his  death.  Grant,  like  Lincoln, 
was  modest  to  a  degree,  and  well  bore  out 
the  opinion,  now  become  almost  an  axiom, 
that  personal  simplicity  is  almost  invariably 
an  accompaniment  of  true  greatness. 

The  relations  between  Johnson  and  Grant, 
and  their  respective  supporters,  were  such 
that  the  out-going  President  and  his  daughter, 
Mrs.Patterson,  contrary  to  precedent,  did  not 
stay  to  receive  their  successors  at  the  White 
House.  Nevertheless,  after  having  been  in 
augurated  at  the  Capitol  on  that  fourth  day 
of  March,  1869,  President  Grant  and  Mrs. 
Grant  drove  directly  through  Pennsylvania 
Avenue;  and  when  they  arrived  at  the  White 
House  they  found  the  Blue  Room  and  the 
Red  Room  and  the  Green  Room  filled  with 
Army  and  Navy  friends  and  others,  all  eager 
to  welcome  the  newcomers;  a  bright,  eager, 
merry  throng,  aglow  with  the  excitement  and 
exhilaration  of  the  hour.  And  they  gave  the 


78     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

new  President  and  his  family  a  welcome  as 
cordial  as  it  was  sincere. 

The  contrast  between  this  gay,  light-hearted, 
happy  arrival  of  President  Grant's  family, 
and  the  lonely  coming  of  President  Johnson's 
a  few  years  previous,  was  almost  painful. 
Here  there  was  no  gloom  cast  over  the  arrival, 
as  in  the  previous  instance,  by  the  fact  that 
half  the  country  already  was  at  loggerheads 
with  President  Johnson.  There  was  no  such 
anxiety  as  had  been  constantly  felt  concerning 
Mrs.  Johnson's  feeble  health.  There  was  none 
of  the  strangeness  to  new  surroundings,  no 
ignorance  of  White  House  etiquette,  as  was 
the  case  when  Mrs.  Johnson  and  her  children 
and  grandchildren  had  arrived.  On  the  con 
trary,  Grant  was  the  most  popular  man  in 
the  country  —  a  hero  admired,  believed  in, 
trusted  to  guide  to  greatness  and  prosperity 
and  influence  the  nation  which  even  then  had 
somewhat  recovered  from  the  shock  of  civil 
war.  Every  one  wished  him  well,  was  eager 
to  follow  his  leadership,  to  help  him ;  and  this 
feeling  of  sympathy  and  cordiality  extended 
to  the  members  of  his  family. 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          79 

When  the  first  greetings  of  welcome  had 
been  exchanged,  soon  after  the  newly-inaug 
urated  President  arrived  at  the  White  House, 
luncheon  was  served  to  all  the  guests,  who 
shortly  afterwards  withdrew,  leaving  the 
President's  family  to  get  settled  in  their  new 
home.  Besides  the  President  and  Mrs. 
Grant  there  were  present  that  day,  as  I  rec 
ollect  it,  all  their  children  —  Frederick  Dent 
Grant,  a  lad  of  nineteen  years,  who  was  then 
a  West  Point  cadet,  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  Jr., 
Nelly,  and  Jesse. 

Owing  to  various  reasons  social  life  at  the 
White  House  was  more  imposing,  more  elab 
orate,  during  Grant's  time  than  it  had  been 
during  the  Lincoln  or  the  Johnson  administra 
tion.  For  one  thing  the  war  was  over,  and 
the  country  was  rapidly  pulling  itself  to 
gether  again.  A  million  men  had  left  camp 
and  once  more  were  back  in  their  homes  pur 
suing  their  usual  avocations.  Hundreds  of 
thousands  of  families,  reduced  well-nigh  to 
penury  while  the  bread  earners  had  been  at 
the  front,  were  regaining  a  condition  of  pros 
perity,  in  many  instances  a  condition  of  af- 


80     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

fluence.  People  could  think  of  something  else 
besides  war;  anxiety  was  ended  as  to  the  out 
come  of  the  long  struggle;  men  and  women 
felt  the  need  of  relief  in  social  life. 

Then,  too,  communication  between  Wash 
ington  and  other  cities  was  easier.  Ocean  voy 
ages  were  becoming  shorter,  and  many  more 
Europeans  of  high  station  crossed  the  Atlan 
tic  and  visited  the  National  Capital  than  ever 
before.  And  such  foreign  visitors  brought 
with  them  standards  of  social  life,  an  atmos 
phere  of  formality,  more  distinct  than  that  to 
which  American  society  in  general  had  been 
accustomed. 

All  these  things,  and  many  others,  could 
not  but  influence  directly  or  indirectly  the  so 
cial  life  at  the  White  House.  Beginning  with 
the  Grant  administration,  therefore,  it  was 
necessary  to  be  punctilious  about  a  hundred 
little  matters  which  before  then  might  have 
been  disregarded. 

It  so  happened  that  the  first  housekeeper 
employed  at  the  White  House  came  there 
during  the  first  administration  of  President 
Grant.  A  quaint  little  old  lady  was  this 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          81 

Mrs.  Mullen,  pleasant  and  bright,  and  per 
fectly  familiar  with  all  the  duties  required  of 
her.  In  fact,  she  was  so  thoroughly  capable 
and  business-like,  as  well  as  so  faithful,  that 
Mrs.  Grant  soon  became  very  fond  of  her. 
In  those  days  the  steward  purchased  all  the 
table  supplies,  and  with  these  Mrs.  Mullen 
had  little  to  do;  but  her  duties  included 
practically  everything  else  connected  with  the 
housekeeping  of  the  Executive  Mansion - 
oversight  of  the  servants,  the  care  of  the  vari 
ous  rooms  and  the  furniture,  and  the  thousand 
and  one  details  which  must  be  looked  after 
in  such  a  large  establishment. 

Mrs.  Grant  had  no  secretary  to  attend  to 
her  correspondence,  the  great  bulk  of  which 
was  referred  to  the  office  for  action.  She  used 
to  receive  an  enormous  number  of  appeals  for 
help,  for  charities,  for  assistance,  in  aid  of 
almost  every  cause  that  could  be  imagined. 
Being  a  warm-hearted,  sympathetic  woman, 
some  of  these  appeals  made  a  strong  impres 
sion  upon  her.  I  can  remember  several 
instances  when  Mrs.  Grant  requested  her  hus 
band  to  give  this  person  or  that  a  position 


82     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

that  was  asked  for,  or  to  accede  to  some  other 
request  of  like  nature.  She  always  called  the 
President  "  Ulys,"  and,  excepting  upon  the 
most  formal  occasions,  he  always  addressed 
her  as  "Mrs.  G."  Both  the  President  and 
his  wife  were  plain  people,  simple  in  their 
tastes  to  an  extent  that  would  cause  surprise 
to-day,  when  everything  has  so  changed 
throughout  the  social  fabric  of  the  entire  na 
tion. 

As  an  example  of  the  unaffected  per 
sonality  of  Grant,  I  recall  one  of  his  very 
infrequent  visits  to  Washington  during  the 
war.  It  was  not  his  habit,  remember,  to  come 
to  the  National  Capital  whenever  he  had  an 
excuse;  General  Grant's  business  was  at  the 
front,  and  there  he  stayed  on  active  duty 
practically  all  of  the  time.  But  on  the  oc 
casion  referred  to  it  was  necessary  for  him  to 
make  a  flying  trip  to  Washington,  and  it  so 
happened  that  he  arrived  in  the  city  late  in 
the  evening  on  which  one  of  the  Thursday 
receptions  was  being  given  by  President  Lin 
coln  to  the  general  public  —  one  of  the  old- 
fashioned  "  levees."  As  usual  I  was  standing 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          83 

opposite  Lincoln,  where  I  could  scan  the  long 
line  of  men  and  women  who  came  up  to  be 
presented  to  him. 

The  Foreign  Ministers  and  other  members 
of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  in  all  their  gorgeous 
uniforms  and  gold  lace,  accompanied  by  their 
wives  and  daughters  gowned  in  Paris  frocks, 
were  passing  the  receiving  party,  and  imme 
diately  after  this  most  brilliant  body  of  men 
and  women  came  the  highest  officers  of  the 
army  and  navy,  also  in  full-dress  uniform, 
and  then  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  private 
citizens  from  all  over  the  country,  who 
stretched  out  in  a  long  line,  two  by  two, 
through  the  various  rooms.  But  in  that  group 
of  magnificently  uniformed  army  and  navy 
officers  was  one  short,  solidly-built  man  who 
wore  a  much-used  service  uniform,  carried  a 
slouch  hat  in  one  hand,  and  had  an  army  over 
coat  thrown  across  his  other  arm.  This  man 
was  General  Grant.  He  had  reached  Washing 
ton  on  an  important  mission,  and  had  hurried 
in  a  direct  line  from  the  railroad  train  to  the 
White  House,  and  thought  nothing  whatever 
about  his  personal  appearance.  Moreover,  he 


84     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

was  so  great  and  commanding  a  figure  in  the 
nation,  that  few  others  of  the  hundreds  pres 
ent  noticed  the  strange  contrast  he  made  to 
the  brilliant  group  which  surrounded  him. 

Now,  this  plainness  and  simplicity  was  char 
acteristic  both  of  Grant  and  his  wife  when 
they  came  to  reside  in  the  White  House;  but 
it  was  incumbent  upon  them  to  modify  their 
personal  inclination  to  a  certain  extent  be 
cause  of  the  high  official  position  they  then 
occupied.  It  was  because  times  and  customs 
had  changed  so  greatly  in  a  few  short  years 
that  the  social  side  of  the  White  House  was 
much  more  elaborate  and  ceremonious  than 
it  had  been  under  several  previous  administra 
tions. 

As  distinguished  from  the  purely  social, 
or  what  may  be  termed  the  "  entertain 
ment  "  side,  was  the  intimate  family  life  of 
the  Grants  in  the  White  House;  and  in  this 
there  was  all  the  charming  simplicity  and 
unaffectedness  which  makes  such  a  life  suc 
cessful.  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  ad 
dition  to  the  President  and  his  wife  and  their 
children  there  were  a  great  many  visitors  at 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          85 

the  Executive  Mansion  during  Grant's  occu 
pancy  thereof.  Grant  himself,  of  course,  had 
a  host  of  friends  and  former  comrades-in-arms 
whom  he  esteemed  highly  and  whom  he  always 
made  welcome,  and  while  he  was  not  so  fond 
of  entertaining  as  his  wife  naturally  was,  yet 
he  did  his  share. 

Mrs.  Grant  was  a  woman  of  medium  height, 
of  rounded  figure,  with  dark  hair  and  hazel 
eyes,  and  a  skin  that  betokened  the  excellent 
health  she  always  enjoyed.  She  was  energetic 
and  lively  of  spirit,  and  very  active  indeed. 
She,  too,  had  many  friends  in  and  around 
Washington,  and  quite  a  number  of  relatives, 
who  often  were  at  the  White  House;  among 
them  Mrs.  Sharp,  whose  husband  Grant  after 
ward  appointed  Marshal  of  the  District;  and 
another  sister,  Mrs.  Casey,  whose  husband 
wras  a  prominent  man  before  Grant  appointed 
him  Collector  of  the  Port  of  New  Orleans. 
Mrs.  Casey,  by  the  way,  is  living  in  Wash 
ington  at  the  present  writing.  Then  Mrs. 
Grant's  brother  lived  in  Georgetown  —  Gen 
eral  F.  T.  Dent,  one  of  the  Secretaries  to  the 
President  —  and  he  and  his  wife  and  chil- 


86     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

dren  naturally  were  often  at  the  Executive 
Mansion. 

One  of  General  Dent's  daughters,  "  Madgie," 
as  we  all  called  her,  was  a  great  friend  of  her 
cousin  Nelly  Grant.  The  two  girls  were  about 
the  same  age,  and  being  vivacious  and  bright, 
they  made  charming  companions.  While  I 
have  been  jotting  down  memoranda  for  this 
very  chapter,  "  Madgie  Dent  "  has  called  on 
me  in  the  Executive  Office  of  the  White  House. 
She  is  no  longer  Madgie  Dent,  however,  but 
the  wife  of  Major  Lafayette  E.  Campbell,  a 
retired  army  officer,  and  a  wealthy  mine  owner 
of  Denver. 

Of  course  we  talked  of  old  times,  and  she  re 
minded  me  of  the  occasions  on  which  I  used 
to  take  her  driving  about  the  city  and  suburbs 
when  she  was  a  little  girl  here.  Furthermore 
she  assures  me  that  she  is  now  a  grandmother 
herself  —  but  this  I  could  hardly  believe. 

Other  of  the  Dent  children  who  made  up  a 
part  of  the  merry  company  of  young  visitors 
at  the  White  House  during  Grant's  admin 
istration  were  "  Jack  "  Dent  —  now  Colonel 
John  C.  Dent,  U.  S.  A.,  who,  at  the  present 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          87 

writing,  is  in  Washington,  awaiting  retirement 
for  disability.  And  little  "  Jack  "  Dent  actu 
ally  is  a  grandfather  himself!  The  third  of 
General  Dent's  children  was  a  fine  lad  named 
Sydney,  who  is  now  practising  law  in  Cali 
fornia. 

In  those  days  children  at  the  White  House 
and  elsewhere  were  not  so  much  in  evidence 
as  they  are  in  a  majority  of  American  homes 
at  the  present  time.  But  all  these  mentioned, 
together  with  their  young  friends,  made  merry 
all  over  the  Executive  Mansion  when  permitted 
to  do  so,  and  spent  many  of  their  happiest 
hours  in  games  and  sports  on  the  broad  rolling 
acres  at  the  south  side  of  the  Executive 
Mansion. 

I  was  associated  with  Grant,  especially  dur 
ing  his  second  administration,  more  closely 
and  constantly  than  with  any  other  of  the 
Presidents  during  my  term  of  service  in  the 
White  House,  which  began  in  Lincoln's  time 
and  has  continued  to  the  present  day.  And 
the  family  life  of  the  Grants  was  as  har 
monious  and  equable  as  any  that  I  have  ever 
seen. 


88     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Grant  himself  was,  of  course,  a  man  of  com 
plete  self-control.  Mrs.  Grant,  while  cheery 
and  of  a  very  happy  disposition,  never  knew 
what  the  word  "  excitable  "  or  "  nervous  " 
meant;  her  calmness  was  unusual.  In  this  re 
spect  she  was  much  like  the  general.  She 
accepted  his  desire  that  their  family  life  in  the 
White  House  should  be  as  distinct  as  pos 
sible  from  his  official  life,  and  while  she  went 
to  his  office  whenever  she  wanted  to  speak  to 
him,  yet  she  never  appeared  there  until  she 
had  made  sure  that  he  was  alone,  and  that  she 
would  not  disturb  him  in  his  official  business. 

Ordinarily,  Mrs.  Grant  dressed  plainly,  and, 
like  Mrs.  Johnson's,  her  clothing  was  of  the 
best  materials  and  made  by  the  best  dress 
makers.  She  was  not  particularly  fond  of 
jewels,  although,  with  due  respect  for  the 
proprieties,  she  was  willing  to  wear  them  on 
formal  occasions,  as  was  befitting  the  wife  of 
the  President. 

Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  President 
and  his  entire  family  retired  between  half- 
past  nine  and  ten  o'clock  at  night,  for  Grant 
believed  in  getting  plenty  of  sound  sleep 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          89 

whenever  possible.  Probably  his  tremendous 
exertions  during  the  years  of  the  war  had 
taught  him  to  value  uninterrupted  sleep  as 
most  people  do  not  value  it.  They  would 
breakfast  at  about  half-past  eight  in  the 
morning,  soon  after  which  Grant  would  go  to 
his  office  for  the  transaction  of  business;  and 
Mrs.  Grant,  after  seeing  the  children  started 
off  to  school,  would  hold  consultations  with 
her  housekeeper  and  with  the  steward,  and 
then  settle  down  to  her  heavy  correspondence. 
Likely  as  not,  during  the  morning,  some  of 
her  relatives  or  intimate  friends  would  come 
to  the  White  House  informally,  or  she  would 
spend  an  hour  or  two  in  the  conservatory,  of 
which  she  was  very  fond,  or  she  would  go 
shopping. 

The  entire  family  met  for  luncheon  at  about 
one  o'clock,  and  they  had  such  a  good  time 
at  the  table  that  nobody  ever  was  absent  will 
ingly,  or  even  late.  Grant  was  at  his  best 
at  the  table  with  his  wife  and  children;  and 
for  an  hour  or  two  after  dinner  in  the  evening 
he  devoted  himself  to  them  wholly  and  solely. 

When  he  was  with  these  whom  he  loved  so 


90     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

dearly  all  his  taciturnity  would  vanish,  his 
stern  expression  would  melt  away,  and  he 
would  be  an  affectionate,  sympathetic  father, 
delighting  in  the  comradeship  of  his  little 
people,  sharing  their  plans  and  jokes,  and 
prouder  than  anything  else,  I  think,  that  they 
confided  in  him  so  freely  all  their  hopes  and 
fears  and  aspirations.  This  is  the  Grant  I 
like  to  think  of  as  much  as  I  like  to  think, 
with  a  thrill  of  admiration,  of  Grant  the  grim, 
indomitable  warrior. 

In  the  afternoon  Mrs.  Grant  usually  went 
driving  in  her  landau,  either  around  the  city 
or  over  to  the  Soldiers'  Home,  or  along  coun 
try  roads  just  outside  of  Washington.  Some 
times  two  or  three  of  her  children  were  with 
her,  or  other  people;  but  she  seldom  went 
alone.  The  two  horses  were  the  finest  that 
could  be  obtained  for  the  White  House  stables, 
and  the  coachman  and  footman,  negroes  of 
unusual  appearance,  wore  a  dark,  rich  livery 
with  silver-plated  buttons.  The  coachman, 
Albert  Hawkins,  was  tall,  splendidly  built, 
and  intensely  black;  a  powerful,  smooth- 
shaven  man,  who  sat  on  his  box  like  the 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          91 

statue  of  a  grenadier;  while  the  footman 
beside  him,  Jerry  Smith,  was  only  less  impos 
ing  in  appearance.  Together  with  the  car 
riage  itself,  and  the  horses  and  their  harness, 
these  men  made  an  appearance  strikingly  im 
pressive.  They  realized  to  the  full  the  im 
portance  of  what  they  considered  their  high 
official  situation  in  life,  and  they  showed  it 
by  their  immovable  dignity  and  extreme  grav 
ity  on  every  occasion.  When  some  of  Grant's 
intimate  friends,  like  the  late  A.  J.  Drexel,  of 
Philadelphia,  concluded  a  visit  at  the  White 
House,  he  would  be  driven  to  the  railroad 
station  in  this  equipage,  and  invariably  tipped 
each  of  the  splendid  colored  men  with  a 
twenty-dollar  bill.  Mr.  Drexel  used  to  say 
it  was  worth  forty  dollars,  any  time,  to  ride 
in  that  carriage. 

I  suppose  Grant  himself  sometimes  went  for 
a  drive  in  his  landau  —  when  he  could  not  very 
well  help  it;  but  what  he  enjoyed  was  to 
sit  on  the  edge  of  the  seat  in  a  light  racing 
buggy,  pull  the  brim  of  his  slouch  hat  down 
over  his  eyes,  lean  forward  until  his  arms  and 
shoulders  were  just  above  the  dashboard,  and, 


92     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

by  speaking  a  few  words  to  the  magnificent 
trotting-horse  in  front  of  him,  sweep  past 
every  other  pair  of  heels  that  was  kicking  up 
the  dust  of  a  smooth  road.  This  he  did  on  al 
most  any  beautiful  afternoon  when  he  could 
get  away  from  the  Executive  Office.  Grant 
was  very  fond  of  two  forms  of  indoor  games, 
-billiards  and  cribbage.  So  far  as  I  re 
member,  whist  was  not  played  at  the  White 
House  —  certainly  not  to  any  extent  —  dur 
ing  Grant's  time  there.  But  frequently  in  the 
evening,  after  the  children  had  gone  to  bed, 
and  when  Mrs.  Grant  perhaps  was  engaged 
with  wives  of  Cabinet  Members  or  other  ladies 
calling  upon  her,  the  President  would  send 
out  for  General  Van  Vleet  or  other  of  his 
warm  personal  friends,  and  would  sit  down 
to  a  game  of  cribbage,  which  he  would  fight 
almost  as  hard  as  he  had  planned  and  fought 
some  of  his  military  campaigns.  In  order  that 
he  might  be  able  to  play  the  other  game 
whenever  he  had  time  to  spare,  Grant  built 
a  billiard-room  out  of  a  part  of  the  old  con 
servatory;  and  there  he  would  generally  go 
for  a  little  while  after  dinner,  practising  with 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          93 

cue  and  balls,  and  puffing  clouds  of  smoke 
through  half-closed  lips,  while  he  perfected 
himself  in  difficult  shots  and  combinations. 

The  President  took  little  exercise  other  than 
that  afforded  by  the  billiard  table,  excepting 
his  walks  about  the  city  of  Washington,  and 
these  he  would  take  at  almost  any  hour  of 
the  day,  when  he  could  spare  the  time,  al 
though  he  usually  went  in  the  late  afternoon. 
He  never  thought  of  having  any  guard  ac 
company  him  or  follow  him.  Everybody  in 
the  city  knew  him  by  sight,  of  course,  and  he 
knew  an  enormous  number  of  people,  so  that 
as  he  went  striding  or  strolling  along,  as  was 
his  inclination  at  the  moment,  they  would 
speak  to  him  and  he  would  return  the  salu 
tation;  and  that  was  all  there  was  about  it. 

When  he  had  walked  far  enough  to  satisfy 
him  he  would  turn  around  and  come  back  to 
the  White  House  for  dinner.  The  era  of 
American  simplicity  was  by  no  means  alto 
gether  past,  and  the  idea  that  Grant  might 
meet  with  assassination  or  other  untoward 
happening  when  walking  alone  around  the 
city  never  occurred  to  his  friends,  and,  I 


94     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

imagine,  was  the  last  thing  that  he  could 
have  thought  of  himself. 

The  White  House  was  partially  refurnished 
under  Mrs.  Grant's  supervision  after  she  came 
there  to  live,  although  the  changes  she  made 
were  not  so  extensive  as  in  several  adminis 
trations  before  and  after  that  of  her  husband. 
Perhaps  no  feature  of  the  refurnishing  has 
been  more  widely  known  than  what  is  called 
the  "  Grant  Administration  China,"  which, 
because  of  its  beauty  and  elegance,  was  talked 
of  at  the  time  all  over  the  world.  The  porce 
lain  breakfast  plates  were  of  a  delicate  pearly 
white  excepting  for  the  broad  border,  which 
was  of  a  soft  old-rose  tone,  with  a  very  fine 
line  of  gold  around  the  outer  edge. 

The  breakfast  set  was  sufficiently  elegant  to 
command  attention  and  comment,  but  it  oc 
cupied  a  minor  position  when  compared  with 
the  great  dinner  service,  known  as  the  "  Flower 
Set  "  in  the  history  of  the  White  House  china. 
Each  of  the  scores  and  scores  of  dinner  plates 
in  this  Flower  Set  contained,  in  the  center,  a 
large  background  of  absolute  white,  on  which 
were  painted  flowers.  The  artist  who  de- 


£  § 

'S  B 
o 


05      0) 


<u    - 
£    o 

^  ^ 

O     C 

II 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          95 

signed  the  set  had  used  different  flowers  for 
each  of  the  plates  —  lilies,  roses,  pansies;  in 
fact  I  have  been  told  that  represented  in  the 
Grant  "  Flower  Set  "  of  the  White  House 
china  may  be  found  almost  every  flower  na 
tive  to  the  United  States  at  the  time  the  set 
was  made;  and  there  were  no  duplicates  in 
the  whole  service.  These  dinner  plates  had 
graceful,  fluted  edges;  and  in  the  border  be 
tween  the  edge  and  the  central  background 
of  white  was  a  crest  executed  in  gold,  of  an 
eagle  with  partly  spread  wings,  surmounted 
by  a  gold  shield,  and  above  the  shield  a  group 
of  stars.  This  motive  —  the  eagle,  the  shield, 
and  the  stars  —  in  some  form  is  used  gener 
ally  on  the  china  of  all  the  various  adminis 
trations,  as  well  as  on  the  social  stationery 
of  the  White  House,  such  as  invitations  to 
dinners  and  receptions.  In  a  general  way, 
the  design  somewhat  resembles  the  seal  used 
by  the  President. 

In  Grant's  time  the  principal  guest-chamber 
was  on  the  south  side  of  the  White  House  and 
was  furnished  throughout  in  mahogany.  The 
great  bedstead  was  especially  imposing,  being 


96      MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

beautifully  carved,  and  having  a  high  canopy 
over  its  head.  The  old-fashioned  bureau  as 
well  as  the  chairs  and  the  table  of  the  guest 
room  also  were  carved  to  some  extent  but 
not  as  elaborately  as  was  the  bedstead. 

In  those  days  there  were  no  rugs  in  the 
Executive  Mansion,  the  floor  coverings  being 
carpets,  usually  very  rich  and  of  beautiful  de 
sign.  It  will  be  remembered  by  those  who 
visited  the  White  House  years  ago  that  the 
carpet  covering  the  magnificent  East  Room 
had  not  merely  been  woven  especially  for  it 
in  one  single  piece  of  fabric  —  without  seam 
or  division  whatever  —  but  that  it  was  so  de 
signed  that  it  contained  three  great  orna 
mental  medallions  down  the  middle,  which 
corresponded  exactly  with  three  great  me 
dallions  just  above  them  in  the  ceiling. 

This  most  famous  room  of  the  White 
House,  by  the  way,  was  finished  in  a  beautiful 
figured  brocade  of  yellowish  tint,  the  few 
chairs  and  sofas  being  covered  with  material 
of  this  color,  and  the  vast  expanses  of  high 
wall  being  overlaid  with  it.  There  was  a  large 
divan  in  the  center  of  the  room.  All  this 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          97 

was  done  away  with  years  ago,  and  to-day 
visitors  at  the  White  House  find  the  East 
Room  walls  a  beautiful,  soft,  spotless  white, 
and  the  floor  a  great  expanse  of  smooth,  pol 
ished  wood. 

Notwithstanding  her  constant  oversight  of 
her  children,  her  care  of  her  husband,  and  her 
interest  in  many  friends,  Mrs.  Grant  had  sin 
cerely  at  heart  the  welfare  of  the  servants  in 
the  White  House.  She  was  a  very  keen, 
level-headed  woman;  possessing  in  her  way 
as  much  sound  sense  as  Grant  possessed  in 
his.  Even  as  far  back  as  that  time,  forty-two 
years  ago,  Grant  foresaw  that  F  Street  was 
destined  to  be  the  leading  business  thorough 
fare  of  the  city  of  Washington  —  although 
why  he  should  think  so  was  a  mystery  to 
most  people,  for  to  the  ordinary  observer 
there  was  little  evidence  of  the  development 
which  has  since  come  to  pass  exactly  as  Grant 
predicted  it  would. 

And  Mrs.  Grant  as  well  saw  with  un 
erring  eye  that  not  many  years  would  pass 
before  real  estate  in  Washington  would  in 
crease  tremendously  in  value.  During  her 


98     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

husband's  first  administration,  Mrs.  Grant 
used  to  explain  to  her  servants  the  necessity 
for  them  to  purchase  homes  of  their  own 
while  the  city  was  still  small,  and  while  mod 
est  homes  could  be  obtained  at  modest  prices. 
She  took  special  interest  in  this  matter,  so 
far  as  the  dining-room  servants  of  the  White 
House  were  concerned,  and  practically  insisted 
that  each  of  them  should  purchase  a  home  for 
his  family. 

One  of  these  servants,  a  colored  man  named 
Harris,  was  slow  to  take  her  advice.  He  did 
not  realize  that  his  mistress  knew  what  she 
was  talking  about,  and  Mrs.  Grant  was  so 
anxious  for  him  to  take  advantage  of  the  op 
portunity  she  saw  that  one  day  she  sent  for 
him  and  said: 

"  Harris,  if  you  do  not  buy  a  home  at  once, 
and  commence  paying  for  it  while  houses  are 
cheap,  your  opportunity  will  soon  be  gone. 
The  time  is  coming  when  there  will  be  a  great 
change  in  real  estate  values  all  over  the  city. 
Washington  will  grow  into  a  big  place  so 
suddenly  that  you  will  never  again  have  the 
chance  that  you  now  possess.  If  you  do  not 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT          99 

go  out  and  select  a  home  and  commence  to 
pay  for  it,  I  will  buy  one  for  you  myself; 
and  I  will  take  out  of  your  wages  each  month 
enough  to  pay  the  installments." 

Harris  looked  at  his  mistress  who  was  speak 
ing  so  decidedly,  and  he  knew  that  when  Mrs. 
Grant  spoke  she  meant  every  word  that  she 
uttered.  There  was  no  alternative  for  him  to 
choose.  If  he  and  his  wife  did  not  select  the 
home  they  wanted  and  commence  to  pay  for 
it,  he  knew  that  Mrs.  Grant  would  select  a 
home  for  him  and  would  buy  it  on  the  install 
ment  plan  just  as  she  had  said  she  would  do. 
And  that  is  the  way  that  Harris  came  to  have 
a  little  property  of  his  own  in  Washington. 

The  history  of  Washington  real  estate  in  the 
last  three  decades  has  fully  borne  out  the  pre 
dictions  made  by  President  Grant  and  his  wife. 
At  the  time  she  threatened  to  hold  back  part 
of  Harris'  wages  and  buy  a  home  for  him,  he 
could  have  purchased  a  piece  of  land  on  which 
was  an  excellent  brick  house  for  four  thou 
sand  dollars.  The  brick  house  has  long  ago 
been  superseded  on  that  lot,  and  the  land 
itself  is  worth  to-day  not  less  than  forty  thou- 


100    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

sand  dollars.  It  was  largely  through  Mrs. 
Grant's  influence  and  wise  advice  that  not  a 
few  of  the  old-time  employees  of  the  White 
House  were  enabled  to  make  such  sound  in 
vestments  as  I  have  referred  to. 

During  Grant's  second  administration  I  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  reception-room  for 
visitors  who  called  upon  the  President,  and 
thereafter,  until  he  left  the  White  House 
again  to  become  a  private  citizen,  I  stood  as 
a  buffer  or  breakwater  between  Grant  and  the 
general  public.  Of  course,  Cabinet  Members 
and  Senators  and  Representatives  went  in  to 
see  him  at  any  time,  but  aside  from  these  it  was 
my  business  to  interview  all  visitors,  and  sift 
them  down  to  a  minimum,  making  sure  that 
every  one  should  be  brought  to  the  President's 
attention  who  really  had  good  reason  for  see 
ing  him,  and  that,  as  far  as  possible,  none 
should  take  up  his  time  needlessly. 

There  was  a  great  horde  of  office-seekers 
constantly  besieging  the  President  in  those 
days,  because  the  civil  service  had  not  then  been 
put  on  a  competitive  and  strictly  business  basis. 
While  reform  in  the  civil  service  had  been 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT        101 

talked  about,  and  had  received  the  endorse 
ment  of  many  of  our  best  men,  yet  as  a  matter 
of  fact  during  Grant's  life  in  the  White  House 
the  President  appointed  whomever  he  chose  to 
almost  any  office,  or  superintendency,  or  clerk 
ship,  throughout  the  entire  ramifications  of  the 
Federal  Government.  This  almost  limitless 
power  of  appointment  could  not  but  bring 
down  upon  him  a  never-ceasing  flood  of  ap 
plicants,  for  every  possible  situation  that  ex 
isted;  and  perhaps  the  most  onerous  part  of 
my  work  was  to  try  and  keep  that  flood  from 
wholly  engulfing  the  President.  I  was  only 
partially  successful,  and  of  course  I  was  only 
one  of  a  number  who  tried  to  save  Grant  from 
such  ceaseless  annoyance.  In  this  respect,  as 
in  many  others,  times  have  changed  mightily 
in  and  around  the  White  House. 

The  days  and  weeks  and  months  of  Grant's 
eight  years  at  the  Executive  Mansion  flew  by 
so  rapidly  that  we  scarcely  realized  that  they 
were  gone.  This  was  not  true  to  so  great  a 
measure,  however,  during  the  long,  hot,  sum 
mer  months,  when  the  President's  family  used 
to  go  to  Long  Branch  as  soon  as  Congress 


102    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

adjourned  in  June,  and  remain  there  until 
October.  I  never  accompanied  him  to  Long 
Branch,  but  stayed  in  the  office,  from  which 
important  mail  was  sent  to  him,  and  papers 
of  all  kinds  needing  his  signature.  It  was 
popularly  supposed  that  President  Grant  en 
joyed  four  months  of  rest  and  diversion  each 
year  at  Long  Branch,  but  this  delusion  was 
not  shared  by  those  of  us  in  the  Executive 
Office  who  knew  of  the  enormous  amount  of 
business  which  he  transacted  at  his  summer 
home. 

As  I  have  already  mentioned,  the  White 
House  children  during  the  Grant  period  were 
Frederick  Dent,  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  Jr.,  Nellie, 
and  Jesse.  In  a  general  way  their  history  is 
familiar  to  every  one.  "  Fred  "  was  born  in 
1850,  and  was  graduated  from  West  Point  in 
the  class  of  '71.  I  have  included  him  as  one 
of  the  "  children  "  because  he  was  as  bright 
and  happy  and  genial  as  if  he  were  really  a 
little  boy.  Yet  one  of  his  own  children  was 
born  in  the  White  House.  A  few  days  ago 
I  wrote  to  him  —  he  is  now  Brigadier- General 
Frederick  D.  Grant,  —  and  asked  if  he  could 
help  me  to  find  any  photographs  of  his  father's 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT        103 

family  made  during  the  Grant  administra 
tions.  I  have  just  received  his  reply,  with 
which  he  most  kindly  sends  the  photograph 
here  reproduced  of  General  Grant  and  his 
family,  the  picture  having  been  made  the  year 
before  Grant  went  to  the  White  House  as 
President. 

An  additional  interest  in  the  picture  may 
be  given  by  the  statement  that  so  far  as 
I  can  ascertain  this  is  the  first  time  it  has 
ever  been  published.  It  is  a  very  good  group 
of  portraits,  and  shows  the  members  of  the 
family  with  remarkable  faithfulness,  as  they 
were  at  the  time  it  was  made.  Unfortunately, 
only  about  one-half  of  little  Jesse  happened 
to  get  on  the  old-fashioned  negative. 

For  some  reason  —  or  perhaps  because  of 
no  reason  at  all  —  Ulysses,  Jr.,  was  always 
called  "Buck;"  and  he  was  born  only  two 
years  later  than  Fred.  A  very  pleasant 
memory  of  his  boyhood  in  the  White  House 
I  have,  too.  He  was  a  modest,  retiring  lad, 
as  sensitive  and  kindly  as  a  girl;  but  not  lack 
ing  whatever  in  virility  or  manly  spirit.  This 
combination  of  apparently  diverse  traits  re- 


104    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

suited  in  a  character  that  might  have  been 
inherited  from  his  father,  as  little  Tad  Lin 
coln's  character  certainly  was  a  heaven-sent 
inheritance  from  his  great  father.  At  any  rate 
"  Buck  "  Grant  was  an  unusual  lad,  and  in 
spite  of  the  high  position  and  great  fame  of 
his  renowned  parent  he  never  put  on  any 
"  airs  "  whatever. 

With  his  younger  brother  Jesse  he  attended 
school  at  the  Emerson  Institute  in  Four 
teenth  Street,  and  every  morning  a  White 
House  orderly  would  drive  them  there  in  a 
little  wagon  drawn  by  a  pair  of  Shetland 
ponies.  When  I  close  my  eyes,  even  now,  I 
can  hear  the  quick,  staccato  patter  of  the  tiny 
hoofs,  and  can  see  the  flying  spokes  of  those 
whirling  wheels,  as  the  diminutive  equipage 
started  off  through  the  White  House  grounds. 

At  school  "  Buck  "  Grant  was  very  popular 
-  quiet,  calm,  absolutely  fair  and  square,  and 
withal  so  sensitive  that  a  cross  word  was  more 
of  a  punishment  to  him  than  a  severe  chastise 
ment  would  be  to  most  boys.  In  the  after 
noon  the  same  little  wagon  and  the  same  little 
ponies  would  call  for  the  lads  and  drive  them 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  GRANT        105 

from  school  back  to  the  White  House.  Later 
on  "  Buck  "  went  to  Harvard,  where  he  grad 
uated  in  1874,  and  then  studied  law  at  Colum 
bia.  He  married  the  daughter  of  Senator 
Chaffee,  of  Colorado,  and  then  removed  to 
California,  where,  a  dozen  years  ago,  he  was 
candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate  him 
self.  I  wish  he  had  been  chosen.  He  would 
have  done  valuable  and  important  work  for 
the  country. 

As  for  "Miss  Nellie,"  for  so  I  always 
think  of  her,  she  was  one  of  the  loveliest 
characters  it  was  ever  my  good  fortune  to 
meet.  While  at  the  White  House  she  was  a 
young  lady,  not  a  child,  and  being  so  happy 
and  merry,  and  consequently  so  popular,  she 
had  a  gay  time  there.  Her  bosom  friend  was 
Miss  Barnes,  daughter  of  the  former  Surgeon 
General  of  that  name.  Miss  Nellie  was  the 
idol  of  her  father,  as  every  one  knows,  and 
Miss  Barnes  was  one  of  her  bridesmaids  at 
her  marriage  to  Mr.  Sartoris. 

Of  course,  the  Wall  Street  difficulties,  which 
involved  General  Grant  in  later  years,  were 
to  his  grown-up  sons  like  a  call  to  arms;  and 


106    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

they  responded  instantly,  doing  their  best  to 
find  some  way  to  save  their  father's  fortune, 
and,  when  this  was  impossible,  to  help  him 
pay  off  his  indebtedness.  The  blood  of  the 
old  general  surely  flowed  in  the  arteries  and 
veins  of  his  loyal  sons,  undiminished  in 
strength  of  character,  honesty,  squareness. 

For  instance,  at  the  time  of  the  disastrous 
Ward  business  in  Wall  Street,  President 
Arthur  offered  Frederick  Grant  a  position  of 
quartermaster  in  the  army,  with  the  rank  of 
captain.  This  office  was  for  life,  it  pays  a 
very  good  salary,  and  is  much  sought  after. 
It  was  promptly  declined,  however,  by  Fred 
erick,  who  told  President  Arthur  that  he  had 
determined  to  devote  the  rest  of  his  entire 
life,  if  necessary,  to  paying  off  the  debts  his 
father  and  others  of  the  family  had  incurred. 
While  in  the  army  he  would  be  well  cared  for 
personally,  as  he  realized;  but  he  would  never 
have  a  chance  of  getting  ahead  sufficiently  to 
wipe  out  old  scores  and  leave  a  clean  balance- 
sheet.  And  I  am  sure  that  Fred's  feeling  in 
this  matter  was  fully  shared  by  the  other 
boys. 


IV 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY  OF 
PRESIDENT  HAYES 

PRESIDENT  HAYES  was  inaugurated  on  March 
5,  1877,  because  in  that  year  the  fourth  of 
March  fell  on  Sunday.  He  had  taken  the 
oath  of  office  on  the  previous  Saturday, 
March  3,  for  the  reason  that  Grant's  term 
would  expire  on  Sunday,  and  it  would  not  do 
to  have  the  United  States  without  any  Presi 
dent  for  the  ensuing  twenty- four  hours.  The 
oath  was  administered  to  Mr.  Hayes  by  Chief 
Justice  Waite  on  Saturday,  the  ceremony  tak 
ing  place  in  the  Blue  Room  of  the  White 
House,  and  at  half-past  seven  that  evening 
was  announced  the  dinner  given  in  honor  of 
the  incoming  President  by  General  Grant,  the 
outgoing  President.  The  guests  all  told  num 
bered  thirty-six  persons,  and,  in  addition  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes,  included  Senator  Sher 
man  and  the  members  of  Grant's  Cabinet. 

107 


108    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

This,  of  course,  was  the  last  state  dinner 
given  by  Grant,  and  he  had  taken  in  its  ar 
rangement  the  deep  personal  interest  which 
he  always  took  when  acting  as  host  to  any 
one.  A  copy  of  the  menu  lies  before  me  on 
my  desk,  and  is  as  follows: 

MENU 

CONSOMME  IMPERIALS  BISQUE  DE  GREVISSE 

SHERRY 

WOODCOCK  PATTIES  SALMON 

WHITE    WINE 

FILET  OF  BEEF  CRAWFISH  PUDDING 

BREAST  OF  PHEASANT      GOOSE  LIVERS       ROMAN  PUNCH 
ARTICHOKES  TURKEY 

CHAMPAGNE 

CANVAS  BACK  DUCK  WARM  SWEET  DISH 

RED    WINE 

The  setting  of  the  great  room  in  which  the 
banquet  was  held  was  truly  magnificent.  The 
lighting  of  the  room  was  brilliant;  flowers 
were  everywhere;  on  the  table  were  set  many 
elaborate  and  beautiful  "Fancy  Pieces,"  as 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       109 

we  termed  them,  and  here  and  there  in  artis 
tic  arrangement  were  rare  fruits  and  envel 
oped  sweetmeats  of  various  kinds. 

I  had  never  met  Mr.  Hayes  before  he  be 
came  President,  and  while  that  was  only 
thirty-three  years  ago,  it  may  interest  some 
of  my  younger  readers  to  know  that  he  was 
a  man  of  medium  height,  substantially  built, 
although  not  portly.  He  was  of  erect,  sol 
dierly  appearance,  quick  of  step,  somewhat 
florid  of  complexion,  and  wore  a  full  beard 
of  reddish  tinge,  which  was  already  turning 
gray.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was  one  of  the 
most  lovable  men,  one  of  the  "  best-natured  " 
men  who  has  ever  lived  in  the  White  House 
-  of  a  rather  humorous,  light-hearted  temper 
ament,  and  of  a  disposition  that  was  truly 
happy.  He  was  easily  approached  by  any 
one  who  had  even  an  excuse  for  meeting  him. 
Of  course,  those  of  us  employed  in  the  Ex 
ecutive  Mansion  at  the  time  had  no  definite 
idea  as  to  what  would  be  the  attitude  of  the 
new  President  toward  us;  and  I  fancy  that 
we  were  all  rather  anxious,  as  upon  the  in 
dividual  personality  of  any  President  must 


110    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

depend  very  largely  the  routine  of  the  entire 
office,  and  whether  the  work  goes  along 
smoothly,  methodically,  easily,  or  otherwise.  I 
had  my  first  definite  information  as  to  Presi 
dent  Hayes'  kindliness  of  heart  on  March  6, 
the  very  next  day  after  his  inauguration. 

On  December  20,  1870,  President  Grant 
had  appointed  me  an  "  Executive  Clerk  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States,"  my  term 
to  date  from  December  1  of  that  year.  And 
one  of  the  last  papers  Grant  signed  as  Presi 
dent,  and  which  was  dated  March  3,  1877  - 
the  very  day  he  left  office  —  is  an  order 
wherein  he  designated  me  "  Disbursing  Agent 
for  the  disbursement  of  the  salary  and  con 
tingent  funds  of  the  Executive  Mansion." 

This  promotion  to  be  disbursing  officer  at 
the  White  House  was  none  the  less  welcome 
to  me  because  it  came  on  the  day  of  Grant's 
retirement.  At  the  moment  I  had  no  infor 
mation  as  to  whether  the  new  President  would 
continue  me  in  that  capacity  or  in  any  other 
employment;  still  it  was  a  matter  of  deep 
and  grateful  appreciation  on  my  part  to  real 
ize  that  Grant,  under  whom  I  had  served 


^  /^ 


^l€^. 


Facsimile  of  a  note  from  Alphonso  Taft  to  President  Hayes 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       111 

eight  years,  thought  enough  of  me  to  make 
the  appointment,  which,  of  course,  was  one  of 
much  responsibility. 

The  new  President  assured  me,  however, 
the  day  of  his  inauguration,  that  there  would 
be  no  change;  and  it  was  only  a  day  later, 
on  March  6,  when  he  issued  a  correspond 
ing  appointment  to  Grant's,  thus  continu 
ing  my  position,  although  there  was  no  rea 
son  why  he  should  have  taken  the  trouble  to 
do  so,  for  under  a  ruling  of  the  Treasury 
Department  Grant's  appointment  would  have 
continued  until  my  resignation  was  asked  for, 
or  handed  in  voluntarily.  But  President  Hayes 
liked  to  do  that  sort  of  thing  —  he  liked  to 
make  members  of  his  "  office  family  "  feel  that 
he  had  a  personal  interest  in  their  welfare; 
and  so,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  rush  and  hurry 
of  his  first  three  days  of  the  Presidency,  he 
actually  took  time  not  merely  to  think  of  me 
but  to  have  the  order  of  appointment  made 
out,  signed,  and  delivered.  It  is  a  matter  of 
satisfaction  to  realize  that  from  that  day  to 
this  I  have  continued  in  the  position  of  dis 
bursing  officer. 


MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

It  was  not  long  after  the  new  President 
arrived  in  the  White  House  that  every  one  felt 
a  new  atmosphere.  The  family  consisted  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  and  the  following  chil 
dren:  Webb  Hayes,  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
one  or  twenty-two  years,  who  attended  to  his 
father's  personal  business  affairs.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  before  coming  to  the  White 
House  Mr.  Hayes  had  been  a  practicing  law 
yer  in  Ohio,  that  he  had  served  in  Congress, 
and  had  been  Governor  of  Ohio.  Being  a 
careful,  conscientious,  able  man,  he  was  well- 
to-do  in  worldly  goods,  although  by  no  means 
wealthy;  and  in  order  that  his  time  should 
not  be  taken  up  by  private  business,  when  all 
his  thought  and  effort  belonged  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  President  Hayes  turned 
over  his  private  affairs  to  the  keeping  of 
Webb.  During  the  time  of  Mr.  Hayes's  oc 
cupancy  of  the  White  House  his  eldest  son 
Birchard  was  a  lawyer,  practicing  his  profes 
sion  in  Ohio,  and  while  he  made  occasional 
trips  to  Washington,  yet  he  did  not  reside  in 
the  White  House. 

The  third  son,  Rutherford  P.  Hayes,  was 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       113 

in  college  during  most  of  each  year,  although 
he  was  glad  to  spend  vacation  seasons  with 
his  parents  in  Washington. 

The  fourth  child  was  little  Fanny,  about 
eleven  or  twelve  years  old  as  I  recall  her ;  and 
the  "  baby  "  of  the  family  was  Scott,  a  boy 
of  about  nine  years,  who  was  as  full  of  in 
nocent  mischief  as  any  boy  on  top  of  this 
green  earth,  and  he  was  a  great  favorite  with 
every  one  at  the  office. 

I  have  mentioned  the  fact  that  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hayes  brought  with  them  to  the  White 
House  an  atmosphere  somewhat  different  from 
that  to  which  we  had  been  accustomed.  Al 
most  all  of  the  Presidents,  during  my  experi 
ence  of  forty-six  years,  have  attended  church 
here  or  there  in  the  city,  and  in  such  sense 
have  shown  their  acceptance  of  religious 
teachings.  But  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  actu 
ally  lived  their  religion  day  by  day,  all 
through  the  week  as  well  as  on  Sunday.  By 
this  I  do  not  mean  that  they  discussed  reli 
gion,  or  theological  questions,  with  those  who 
came  to  the  Executive  Mansion;  or  in  any 
other  way  obtruded  their  religious  beliefs  upon 


114    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

others.  But  what  they  stood  for  in  their  re 
ligious  life,  they  stood  for  hard  and  fast. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Mrs.  Hayes  was 
one  of  the  most  influential  members  of  the 
Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union;  and 
contrary  to  all  precedents,  she  was  determined 
that  wines  and  other  alcoholic  beverages 
should  not  be  served  at  the  White  House, 
while  she  was  there.  The  only  time  this  rule 
was  broken,  as  is  well  known,  occurred  when 
two  Grand  Dukes  of  Russia  —  Alexis  and 
Constantine  —  were  officially  entertained  there. 
This  was  the  first  and  last  time,  I  believe, 
that  such  a  thing  happened  while  President 
Hayes  was  in  the  White  House. 

The  President  and  his  wife,  and  usually 
some  of  the  children,  regularly  attended  ser 
vice  in  the  Old  Foundry  M.  E.  Church  which 
stood  at  Fourteenth  and  G  streets.  The  "  Old 
Foundry,"  as  it  is  locally  known,  has  long 
since  been  superseded  by  the  tall,  imposing 
office  structure  known  as  the  Colorado  Build 
ing;  and  its  origin  was  due  to  an  incident 
which  happened  during  the  War  of  1812. 

At  that  period  in  our  history,  many  of  the 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       115 

cannon  were  cast  for  the  United  States  Gov 
ernment  at  a  foundry  owned  by  a  man  named 
Foxall,  whose  works  were  located  outside  of 
the  city,  on  the  road  leading  to  Tenelytown. 
Upon  the  safety  of  his  foundry  depended  not 
merely  his  own  personal  fortunes,  to  a  great 
extent,  but  perhaps  even  the  fortunes  of  the 
Federal  Government;  for  in  those  days  foun 
dries  in  which  cannon  could  be  cast  were  few 
and  far  between.  Realizing  the  seriousness 
of  the  situation,  when  the  British  descended 
on  Washington,  old  Mr.  Foxall  prayed  al 
most  unceasingly  that  God  would  save  his 
foundry  from  the  enemy's  depredations. 
And  remembering,  doubtless,  some  of  the  an 
cient  Hebrews,  the  old  man  made  a  solemn 
promise  that  if  the  Lord  God  Almighty 
would  prevent  the  British  troops  from  dis 
covering  and  seizing  and  destroying  his  prop 
erty,  he  in  return  would  perform  for  the 
Lord  a  special  service  of  some  sort,  and  as 
great  a  service  as  he  was  able  to  carry 
through  successfully. 

The    British    descended    on    the    National 
Capital,  but  they  did  not  destroy  the  Foxall 


116    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Foundry,  and  as  soon  thereafter  as  he  could 
do  so,  Mr.  Foxall  purchased  a  piece  of  land 
and  presented  it  as  a  site  for  the  Old  Foun 
dry  Church. 

It  was  Mrs.  Hayes's  custom  to  go  into  the 
Red  Room  in  the  early  evenings,  after  din 
ner,  and  sit  down  at  the  piano,  gathering  her 
children  around  her,  and  there  they  would 
make  a  beautiful  picture  of  family  life,  sing 
ing  hymns  usually,  but  sometimes,  during 
the  week,  sweet,  old-fashioned,  tender  songs. 
The  President  almost  always  was  with  his 
wife  and  children  during  this  brief  hour  of 
music,  and  it  was  his  custom  to  go  with  them 
immediately  afterward  into  the  old  circular 
library  over  the  Blue  Room,  where  family 
prayers  were  regularly  said  just  before  the 
smaller  children  went  to  bed. 

The  old  library,  by  the  way,  was  used  by 
the  Hayes  family  as  a  living-room,  just  as 
it  had  been  used  during  the  administration  of 
General  Grant.  There  the  father  and  the 
mother  and  their  boys  and  girls  gathered  for 
games  and  stories,  or  sat  down  quietly  and 
read;  and  there  the  children  often  studied  their 
lessons  for  the  next  day's  school. 


Rutherford*.  Hayes  and  Mrs.  Hayes 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       117 

President  Hayes  was  not  so  closely  con 
fined  to  his  office  as  some  of  the  later  Presi 
dents  have  been.  After  breakfast  he  would 
make  it  a  point  to  spend  half  an  hour  with 
his  family,  instead  of  rushing  off  to  business 
as  is  the  habit  of  so  many  American  fathers 
who  are  engrossed  in  professional  or  com 
mercial  pursuits.  There  was  a  delightful  air 
of  leisurely  living  in  the  White  House  dur 
ing  the  Hayes  administration,  and  when  it 
came  time  for  the  President  to  go  to  his 
office,  Mrs.  Hayes  frequently  walked  with 
him,  chatting  as  they  passed  along  through 
the  corridor,  and  turning  only  when  the  office 
door  was  reached.  Then,  while  the  President 
was  disposing  of  his  mail,  —  always  the  first 
duty  of  the  day,  —  and  later  on,  from  eleven 
until  twelve,  receiving  Senators  and  Members 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Mrs.  Hayes 
would  be  busy  with  her  housekeeping  and  her 
children.  Luncheon  was  served  at  one  o'clock 
and  was  as  simple  and  homelike  as  could  be 
imagined. 

The  social  life  of  the  White  House  during 
the  Hayes  administration  was  as  elaborate  as 


118    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

during  Grant's  terms;  but  the  family  life  was 
just  as  simple  as  it  had  been  while  the  Grant 
family  occupied  the  Executive  Mansion.  In 
pleasant  weather,  it  was  the  habit  of  Presi 
dent  Hayes  and  his  wife  to  take  advantage 
of  favorable  opportunities  when  they  could, 
and  stroll  together  through  the  grounds,  es 
pecially  to  the  south  of  the  White  House, 
where  they  would  be  sure  of  some  measure 
of  privacy;  and  they  used  to  walk  over  the 
green  turf,  and  under  the  trees  and  around 
the  fountain,  admiring  the  shrubbery,  pausing 
to  talk  about  the  buds  and  blossoms,  and 
enjoying  the  breath  of  nature  with  a  zest 
that  was  positive. 

It  was  during  Mr.  Hayes's  term  that  a 
croquet  ground  was  laid  out  on  the  lawn  just 
beyond  the  south  portico  of  the  Executive 
Mansion.  There  the  children  and  their 
friends  could  frequently  be  seen,  and  there 
also,  at  certain  times  —  especially  when  the 
President's  family  was  out  of  the  city- 
quite  a  number  of  the  clerks  on  the  White 
House  staff  used  to  spend  an  hour  now  and 
then  in  the  cool  fresh  air  over  hard-fought 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       119 

games  with  mallet  and  ball.  This  freedom  on 
the  part  of  the  younger  men  whom  Mr. 
Hayes  affectionately  included  in  his  "  office 
family,"  was  a  delightful  experience  for  them, 
and  I  doubt  if  public  business  suffered  in 
any  way  because  those  hard-working  young 
fellows  were  permitted,  once  in  a  while,  to 
lay  down  their  pens  and  go  out  to  the  cro 
quet  grounds.  But  that  custom  has  long  since 
gone  by,  and  the  idea  that  clerks  nowadays 
would  seriously  think  of  playing  croquet  or 
tennis  or  anything  else  on  the  White  House 
grounds  during  business  hours  would  cause 
consternation  in  the  office.  For  a  good  many 
years  past  the  business  of  the  Executive 
Office  has  been  run  strictly  on  business  prin 
ciples,  as  in  any  industrial  or  commercial  es 
tablishment,  and  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that 
the  old-time  leisurely  manner  of  conducting 
its  affairs  is  ever  likely  to  return. 

Mrs.  Hayes  was  exceedingly  fond  of  flowers 
and  all  forms  of  plant  life.  She  knew  a  great 
deal  about  this  side  of  nature,  and  she  spent 
much  time  and  thought  in  the  conservatory, 
where  she  could  often  be  seen  at  practical 


120    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

work  among  her  plants,  trowel  in  hand  or 
pruning-knife,  teaching  Fanny  and  little  Scott 
how  to  care  for  the  beautiful  buds  that  came 
into  being,  and  matured,  and  gave  way  to 
others.  She  was  a  very  busy  woman,  too, 
during  her  life  in  the  White  House,  and  I 
think  she  enjoyed  it  thoroughly,  as  a  novel 
experience,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
while  there  she  was  denied  the  privacy  of  her 
old  home  life.  Many  delegations  of  women 
engaged  in  work  for  the  uplift  of  humanity 
called  upon  her,  especially  those  interested  in 
the  cause  of  temperance,  and  these  she  al 
ways  seemed  glad  to  receive.  It  could  hardly 
be  otherwise  when  one  remembers  her  own 
deep  interest  in  all  such  matters,  and  the 
prominent  and  influential  part  she  played  in 
them. 

As  a  rule  she  did  not  attend  public  meet 
ings,  excepting  those  held  in  aid  of  good  causes 
at  church;  but  there  she  could  frequently  be 
seen.  In  July,  1889,  after  her  death,  a  great 
memorial  service  was  held  in  honor  of  Mrs. 
Hayes  at  the  Old  Foundry  Church  by  the 
Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union.  The 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       121 

services  were  presided  over  by  Mrs.  S.  D. 
LaFetra  and  included  addresses  from  a  num 
ber  of  persons  concerning  Mrs.  Hayes  and 
her  work,  together  with  the  singing  of  her 
favorite  hymns.  It  was  my  privilege  on  that 
occasion  to  speak  of  Mrs.  Hayes  as  I  had 
known  and  seen  her  almost  daily  for  four 
years  in  the  White  House. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  when  parents 
are  strictly  opposed  to  the  use  of  tobacco  or 
alcoholic  beverage,  or  to  dancing,  or  card- 
playing,  their  children,  or  some  of  their  chil 
dren,  invariably  swing  to  the  other  extreme 
of  the  pendulum  on  reaching  mature  life,  and 
frequently  are  victims  of  dissipation  in  one 
direction  or  other.  Perhaps  this  may  be  so 
when  parents  are  unreasoning  fanatics;  but 
such  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  emphatically  were 
not.  They  taught  their  children  the  useless- 
ness,  as  they  saw  it,  of  spending  money  for 
tobacco,  and  of  the  positive  danger  of  alcoholic 
beverages.  They  instructed  their  children 
wisely  and  with  sweet  reasonableness  in  these 
and  other  matters,  and  safeguarded  them 
successfully  by  thus  forewarning  them  of 


MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

dangers  which  almost  all  men,  and  which 
many  young  women,  face  as  they  go  through 
life. 

The  result  of  this  loving  care  proved  its 
worth.  Mrs.  Hayes's  daughter  and  all  of  her 
four  sons  are  to-day  healthful,  happy,  and 
eminently  successful  in  their  responsible  sta 
tions  in  life.  Not  one  of  the  boys  ever  uses 
liquor  or  tobacco  in  any  form,  and  I  do  not 
believe  that  they  ever  will.  And,  of  course, 
the  same  thing  may  be  said  of  the  daughter. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  trying 
to  give  the  impression  that  upon  Mrs.  Hayes 
alone  rested  the  entire  responsibility  of  the 
bringing  up  of  her  family.  Her  ideas  as  to 
the  right  way  of  living  were  shared  to  the 
utmost  by  her  husband.  And  they  carried 
out  these  ideas  quietly,  calmly,  with  sympa 
thetic  tenderness,  each  bearing  equal  respon 
sibility  and  being  glad  to  do  so. 

Notwithstanding  the  tremendous  turmoil 
caused  by  the  counting  of  votes  at  the  end 
of  the  Hayes-Tilden  campaign,  everything 
suddenly  became  quiet  immediately  after  the 
President's  inauguration,  and  few  if  any  other 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES        123 

Presidents  have  enjoyed  a  calmer  term  of 
administration  in  the  White  House.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  the  election  was  so  close 
as  to  necessitate  a  decision  by  the  highest 
tribunal  that  ever  met  in  this  country,  —  the 
Senate,  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
passing  final  opinion  as  to  whether  Hayes  or 
Tilden  had  been  elected  President.  So  much 
in  earnest  were  Mr.  Tilden's  supporters  and 
so  violent  were  some  of  the  unthinking  among 
them,  that  for  a  time  it  was  common  to  hear 
threats  made  on  the  streets  that  they  were 
determined  to  seat  him  in  the  White  House 
if  they  had  to  bring  an  armed  force  to 
Washington  for  that  purpose. 

Although  a  dozen  years  had  passed  since 
the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  men's  passions 
were  yet  easily  aroused,  and  the  threats  re 
ferred  to  reached  the  ears  of  President  Grant, 
who  quickly  put  a  quietus  on  the  movement 
to  seat  Tilden  whether  or  no,  by  asserting  that 
whoever  was  declared  by  the  Senate  and 
House  and  Supreme  Court  to  be  elected 
President,  he  himself  would  see  inaugurated. 


124    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Grant  made  this  assertion  just  once  and 
allowed  it  to  become  known  to  the  public; 
and  the  public  knew  that  when  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of 
the  United  States  made  such  an  assertion  - 
and  when  that  official  was  Ulysses  S.  Grant 
-he  would  carry  out  his  announced  plan,  no 
matter  what  happened. 

Consequently  from  the  day  that  Grant's 
declaration  was  made  public  Mr.  Tilden's  ill- 
advised  followers  uttered  no  further  threats. 
Their  mouths  were  closed  instantly  and  per 
manently.  All  that  is  wrell-known  history 
to  most  of  my  readers,  but  the  surprising 
thing  is  that  so  soon  afterward,  immediately 
upon  his  inauguration,  President  Hayes  was 
accepted  cordially  by  practically  the  entire 
country.  Of  course,  there  were  a  few  who 
still  insisted  that  his  election  was  fraudulent, 
in  spite  of  the  decision  rendered;  but  these 
few  were  so  insignificant  in  number  and  influ 
ence  that  they  made  no  impression  upon  the 
nation  at  large. 

At  this  point  I  am  asked,  by  my  collabo 
rator,  who  were  the  strongest  enemies  Mr. 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES        125 

Hayes  had  during  his  administration.  And 
I  am  compelled  to  reply  that  President  Hayes 
had  no  enemies  such  as  most  other  Presidents 
have  had.  He  had  political  opponents,  who 
disagreed  with  him  as  to  policies  and  meas 
ures  and  plans  generally;  but  of  enemies, 
who  were  trying  to  fight  him  and  control 
him  and  upset  him,  who  were  intriguing  to 
demolish  his  influence  and  to  ruin  his  career, 
he  had  none.  Men  could  differ  from  him  on 
public  questions,  but  nobody  could  hate 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  and  this  because  of 
his  lovable  character. 

It  is  a  poor  rule  that  won't  work  both 
ways,  as  we  all  know;  and  it  is  a  good  rule 
that  will  work  both  ways.  President  Hayes- 
lived  according  to  what  was  a  good  rule.  Pie 
hated  nobody,  and  nobody  could  hate  him. 
His  friendliness  and  sympathy  were  at  all 
times  extended  to  those  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact;  and  as  a  result  he  enjoyed  their 
good  will  and  sympathy. 

There  were  some  persons  —  and  perhaps 
there  are  some  to-day  —  in  whose  opinions 
President  Hayes  was  what  is  sometimes 


126    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

termed  a  "  soft "  man,  —  one  easily  influ 
enced  against  his  will.  We,  who  saw  him  at 
close  range,  however,  realized  that  he  was 
able,  keen,  sharp;  a  man  who  instantly  saw 
through  pretense.  As  an  indication  of  his 
ability  to  take  care  of  himself  under  any  cir 
cumstances,  and  of  his  caution,  I  may  repeat 
what  I  have  said  elsewhere,  —  that  he  was  the 
only  President,  certainly  the  only  President 
during  the  last  half  century,  who  invariably 
had  a  stenographer  present  in  his  private 
office.  No  matter  who  came  to  call  upon 
President  Hayes,  the  visitor  never  saw  him 
alone.  At  a  table  in  the  office  sat  Mr.  Gus- 
tin,  an  expert  stenographer,  whose  business 
it  was  to  take  down  in  shorthand  everything 
that  was  said  to  President  Hayes,  and  every 
word  that  the  President  said  in  reply,  ex 
cepting  when  some  one,  such  as  a  member  of 
the  President's  household,  would  come  in  and 
talk  upon  some  purely  personal  matter. 

In  this  way  President  Hayes  protected  him 
self  to  an  extraordinary  degree.  It  was  im 
possible,  under  the  circumstances,  for  any 
political  opponent  later  to  assert  untruthfully 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       127 

that  in  the  Executive  Office  President  Hayes 
had  told  him  that  he  would  do  so  and  so;  or 
that  he  would  not  do  so  and  so,  for  the  Presi 
dent  had  ready,  for  instant  proof,  a  steno 
graphic  report  of  every  word  spoken  by  him 
and  by  the  visitor  who  came  to  his  office  — 
and  this  was  well  known  to  be  so. 

The  children  of  the  White  House  during  the 
Hayes  administration  had  many  friends,  and 
enjoyed  themselves  in  what  is  termed  a  good 
old-fashioned  way.  There  was  no  dancing  in 
the  Executive  Mansion,  there  were  no  lawn 
parties,  or  card  parties,  or  musicales.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  there  has  been  little  real 
gayety  in  the  Executive  Mansion  until  com 
paratively  recent  years.  The  first  children's 
party  was  given  during  President  Johnson's 
administration,  as  I  have  already  mentioned; 
and  the  first  Christmas  tree  ever  put  up  in 
the  great  white  building  was  yet  to  come  in 
President  Harrison's  time.  Nevertheless,  the 
Hayes  children  did  not  lack  for  amusement. 
The  martial  atmosphere,  so  long  enveloping 
Washington,  had  become  dissipated,  and  little 
Scott  Hayes  did  not  "  play  soldier  "  as  Tad 


128    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Lincoln  had  done.     But  he  and  Fanny  used 
to  run  around,  —  busy,  happy  little  children 
engaged  in  a  thousand  and  one  pursuits,  - 
and  would  unhesitatingly  come  into  the  office 
whenever  they  wanted  to  do  so. 

I  liked  all  of  the  children,  of  course,  but 
my  special  pet  was  little  Fanny --then  a  girl 
of  about  eleven  years,  if  recollection  serves 
me.  For  some  reason  she  seemed  to  like  me, 
also,  and  frequently  she  would  come  trotting 
to  the  office,  where  I  sat  at  my  desk,  and 
climb  up  on  my  knee,  and  demand  pen  and 
ink  and  paper.  Whereupon  she  would  gravely 
lean  forward  over  the  desk  and  indite  a  note 
addressed  to  me,  with  much  care  and  much 
puckering  of  her  otherwise  smooth  little  fore 
head.  Some  of  the  childish  messages,  written 
on  bits  of  paper,  I  carefully  preserved,  and 
I  am  glad  to  look  at  them  once  in  a  while, 
when  they  bring  to  my  mind  the  lovable, 
happy  little  lass  who  composed  them  with  so 
much  effort.  One  of  them  which  I  hold  in 
my  hand  is  as  follows: 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES        129 

FEB.  9th  1879 

Dear     Sir.  —  I     am     very     much 
obliged  for  the  French  writing-book. 
Your  affectionate  Friend 

FANNY  HAYES. 

The  single  sheet  of  paper  on  which  this  is 
written  was  carefully  folded  over,  and  on  the 
outside  it  was  addressed  thus: 

Private 

MR.  CROOK 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Fanny  and  her  little  brother,  Scott,  used  to 
come  to  me  whenever  they  wanted  pencils  or 
paper  on  which  to  draw  pictures,  or  little  rub 
ber  bands,  which  they  seemed  to  value  highly; 
and,  of  course,  I  made  sure  to  have  a  suffi 
cient  stock  of  such  childish  treasures  on  hand 
for  my  little  visitors. 

Among  the  many  friends  of  these  two 
youngest  members  of  the  President's  family 
were  the  children  of  the  President's  Secre 
tary,  Mr.  W.  K.  Rogers,  who  had  studied  for 
the  ministry  in  Ohio  before  coming  to  Wash 
ington.  He  had  one  daughter,  a  son,  W.  K. 


130    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Rogers,  Jr.,  who  was  about  fifteen  years  old; 
and  the  baby  of  his  family  was  another  son, 
little  Andrew,  who  was  between  four  and  five 
when  I  first  knew  him.  Mr.  Rogers  lived 
near  the  White  House,  and  having  known  Mr. 
arid  Mrs.  Hayes  intimately  for  many  years, 
his  little  people  were  at  the  Executive  Man 
sion  almost  every  day  as  playmates  of  the 
President's  youngest  children.  For  some  rea 
son  little  Andrew  Rogers  at  once  adopted  me 
as  his  special  friend  among  the  grown-ups  in 
the  Executive  Office,  and  one  of  the  first 
things  he  would  do  on  arriving  would  be  to 
come  over  to  my  desk,  looking  very  mourn 
ful,  climb  up  on  my  knee,  and  sit  there  silently 
for  a  moment.  Whereupon  I  would  say: 

"  Good  morning,  Andrew,  I  hope  you  are 
feeling  well  to-day?  " 

"  No,"  the  little  fellow  would  respond  with 
a  sigh,  "  I  have  a  cough,  and  if  I  do  not  do 
something  for  it,  I  am  afraid  it  will  get 


worse." 


Then  I  would  open  what  I  called  the 
"  children's  drawer  "  in  my  big  desk,  and  take 
out  half  a  dozen  harmless  cough  drops,  or 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES        131 

bits  of  horehound  candy,  and  as  soon  as  he 
placed  one  of  these  sweeties  in  his  dear  little 
mouth  he  would  immediately  recover  from  that 
terrible  cough,  and  after  thanking  me  politely, 
would  trot  out  and  find  the  other  children. 
For  some  reason  Andrew's  cough  never  got 
beyond  the  stage  of  early  recovery  —  I  guess 
it  was  because  he  used  to  come  to  my  desk 
for  cough  drops  pretty  nearly  every  day. 

Other  friends  of  Fanny  and  Scott  Hayes 
were  my  own  children,  Harry  and  Carrie. 
All  four  were  about  of  an  age  and  frequently 
played  together  in  the  White  House  grounds 
or  over  at  the  Soldiers'  Home,  just  outside 
of  the  city,  where  President  Hayes  spent  the 
summer.  Fanny  was  a  plump,  chubby,  merry 
little  mite  of  humanity  with  hair  brown,  but 
not  quite  so  dark  as  her  mother's.  She  was 
a  very  handsome  child,  and  with  great  good 
sense  Mrs.  Hayes  dressed  her  simply  and 
becomingly.  At  the  time  of  her  father's 
presidency  she  had  grown  beyond  the  "  doll- 
baby  "  stage,  and  was  very  fond  of  books, 
especially  of  fairy  tales.  Little  Scott  Hayes 
was  lively  as  a  cricket,  and  like  his  sister 


132     MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Fanny,  and  his  big  brother  Webb,  closely  re 
sembled  his  mother  in  general  appearance. 

Rutherford  P.  Hayes,  even  at  that  time, 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  study  of  botany. 
During  his  vacations  from  college  he  used  to 
spend  most  of  his  time  out  of  doors  examin 
ing  and  gathering  specimens  of  plant  life, 
not  merely  in  and  around  Washington  but 
throughout  various  adjacent  sections  of  Vir 
ginia  and  Maryland.  He  was  of  studious 
habit  from  boyhood,  and  went  about  his  self- 
chosen  task  methodically  and  with  unflagging 
interest.  He  mounted  his  specimens  on  a 
particular  kind  of  bristol-board,  the  sheets  of 
which  were  cut  to  a  convenient  size,  and  these 
he  used  to  obtain  from  my  stock. 

Owing  to  a  lack  of  room  in  the  White 
House,  Rutherford  could  not  have  a  study  of 
his  own  wherein  to  prepare  the  specimens  he 
gathered,  so  he  did  most  of  his  work  in  a 
little  room  at  the  northeast  end  of  the  White 
House,  which  at  that  time  was  used  as  a  tele 
graph  room.  There  he  used  to  classify  and 
mount  hundreds  of  specimens,  study  them, 
and  make  records  -for  his  own  purposes.  Liv- 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES        133 

ing  so  much  of  the  time  in  the  open,  and  in 
heriting  health  and  an  equable  temperament 
from  both  parents,  Rutherford  was  a  fine  type 
of  young  man,  —  strong,  hearty,  rollicking, 
and  full  of  fun.  He  is  now  engaged  in  for 
estry  work  down  in  the  Carolinas,  and,  like 
the  other  Hayes  children,  has  done  unusually 
well  in  life. 

During  Mr.  Hayes's  presidency  his  son 
Webb  was  a  young  man  in  the  early  twenties, 
and  he  also  loved  to  be  out  of  doors,  being 
especially  fond  of  hunting.  Whenever  I  could 
get  a  day  or  two  of  vacation  I  went  with  him 
down  in  Virginia  to  hunt  deer  or  quail  or 
duck  or  geese.  I  remember  one  time  when 
Webb  and  I  started  for  Old  Point  Comfort 
and  there  met  Captain  Lafayette  E.  Camp 
bell,  of  the  Quartermaster's  Department,  with 
whom  arrangements  had  been  made  before 
hand.  The  captain  had  ready  a  good-sized 
power  launch  stocked  with  provisions,  and  an 
excellent  negro  cook,  and  we  steamed  far  up 
the  James  River,  turning  into  a  stream  which 
branched  off  through  a  stretch  of  lowland 
country.  Here  and  there  lived  a  few  families 


134    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

of  "  poor  whites,"  who  earned  a  living,  such 
as  it  was,  principally  by  fishing,  and  by  ex 
tracting  from  a  peculiar  kind  of  fish  a  fatty 
oil,  which  they  would  send  to  the  nearest  town 
for  sale.  We  were  out  after  wild  geese  on 
that  hunting  excursion  and  had  been  told  that 
plenty  of  them  could  be  found  in  the  low 
lands.  So  when  we  reached  a  favorable  local 
ity  the  launch  was  tied  up,  the  cooking  tent 
was  set  up  on  shore,  and  we  all  got  ready  for 
the  hunt. 

There  was  no  question  as  to  the  presence 
of  the  wild  geese;  we  could  hear  them  at 
night  all  around  us,  but  they  must  have  been 
informed  of  Webb  Hayes's  prowess  as  a 
hunter,  for  during  the  several  days  of  our 
sojourn  there  none  of  us  got  within  gunshot 
of  a  single  goose.  But  we  enjoyed  the  out 
ing  all  the  same,  especially  the  long  frosty 
evenings  when  we  would  gather  around  the 
roaring  camp-fire.  As  soon  as  it  was  really 
dark  some  of  the  "  poor  whites  "  already  al 
luded  to  would  come  floating  down  the  wind 
ing  little  stream  in  small  boats  or  in  canoes, 
and,  stepping  ashore,  sit  down  by  the  fire,  and 
inspect  our  party. 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       135 

Word  quickly  passed  from  one  to  another 
that  strangers  were  in  the  vicinity,  and  they 
wanted  to  find  out  who  we  were.  During  the 
first  evening  or  two  they  would  answer  ques 
tions  simply  enough,  although  they  were  by 
no  means  of  a  communicative  disposition ;  but 
somehow  they  learned  that  one  of  our  party, 
Webb,  was  a  son  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  from  that  time  on  we 
could  hardly  get  a  word  out  of  them.  They 
came  down  to  see  us  as  usual,  but  on  arriv 
ing  they  would  simply  sit  around  near  the 
fire  and  look  at  Webb,  and  look,  and  look, 
without  question  or  comment.  It  was  amus 
ing  to  Captain  Campbell  and  to  myself,  but 
I  don't  think  the  young  man  enjoyed  being 
the  object  of  such  close  and  constant  ob 
servation. 

On  another  occasion  Webb  invited  me  to 
go  on  a  deer  hunt  down  in  Virginia.  We  went 
to  Petersburg,  and  there  we  joined  Colonel 
Brady,  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue,  Con 
gressman  Joseph  Jorgensen,  and  a  third 
gentleman,  who  had  a  fine  two-horse  spring 
wagon  ready  for  us,  into  which  we  stepped 


136    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

and  rapidly  drove  down  to  Dinwiddie  Court 
House,  ten  or  a  dozen  miles  distant,  as  I 
recollect  the  drive.  There  we  found  a  few 
houses,  and  there  we  spent  several  days  hunt 
ing  quail  and  deer.  The  game  was  plentiful, 
especially  the  white-tail  deer,  which  would  lie 
around  in  the  fields  during  the  daytime,  rest 
ing  in  the  sage  brush  like  so  many  huge 
rabbits. 

Colonel  Brady  and  Mr.  Jorgensen  had 
made  excellent  preparations  for  the  hunt, 
and  in  the  morning  fifteen  or  twenty  farmers 
would  gather  at  the  appointed  place,  well 
mounted  and  accompanied  by  their  hounds. 
The  guests  of  tL?  hunt  would  be  taken  into 
the  woods  and  wen  Id  be  placed  near  some  of 
the  well-trodden  paths  known  as  "  deer- 
runs,"  by  means  of  which  the  white-tail  were 
accustomed  to  traverse  the  forests.  Then  the 
farmers  would  take  their  dogs  around  through 
the  woods,  starting  up  deer,  which  would  soon 
come  bolting  down  the  runs  at  breakneck 
speed;  and  as  one  of  the  leaping  creatures 
would  dash  past  him,  the  hunter  was  supposed 
to  fire  at  it.  The  deer  had  every  chance  to 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       137 

escape,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  entire 
party  succeeded  in  getting  only  one,  which 
was  shot  by  Webb.  A  number  of  others  were 
seen,  but  they  scented  danger  long  before  we 
could  "  draw  a  bead  "  on  them,  and  spring 
ing  away  from  the  familiar  "  run  "  they  would 
flash  into  the  almost  impenetrable  forest  and 
instantly  disappear. 

It  was  on  the  occasion  of  this  deer  hunt 
near  Dinwiddie  Court  House,  by  the  way, 
that  I  first  learned  how  much  good  sense 
an  intelligent  horse  possesses.  Dr.  Smith, 
father  of  John  Ambler  Smith,  who  was  later 
a  Representative  in  Congress  from  that  dis 
trict,  had  provided  a  mount  for  me,  —  a  highly 
intelligent  thoroughbred  mare.  I  had  become 
so  interested  in  waiting  for  the  deer,  one  day, 
that  I  neglected  to  keep  a  sharp  look-out  as 
to  the  direction  in  which  I  was  riding  alone 
through  this  great  forest  of  fox-tail  pines. 
The  trees  rose  to  a  great  height,  and  the 
ground  was  covered  with  heavy  underbrush. 

Suddenly,  from  afar  off,  I  heard  the  faint 
notes  of  a  horn  giving  signal  for  the  hunters 
to  return  to  Dinwiddie  Court  House.  I  lis- 


138    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

tened  intently,  trying  to  make  out  the  direc 
tion  from  which  the  notes  came,  but  was 
absolutely  unable  to  determine  it.  On  every 
side  the  seemingly  endless  forest  looked  the 
same;  and  I  realized  that  I  was  lost.  While 
sitting  there  in  the  saddle  and  wondering 
which  direction  I  had  better  try  first,  one  dog 
after  another  came  trotting  through  the  under 
brush,  more  or  less  blown  after  a  hard  chase, 
looking  anxiously  at  me  and  then  at  each 
other,  sometimes  running  off  a  few  steps  in 
one  direction,  and  then  in  another,  evidently 
trying  to  decide  where  they  should  go.  The 
horn  sounded  again,  more  faintly  it  seemed 
than  before.  At  that,  the  dogs  gave  evidence 
of  their  anxiety  by  sitting  down  in  a  group 
around  the  horse  and  howling. 

Then  Dr.  Smith's  mare  turned  her  head 
around,  looked  inquiringly  at  me  with  her 
beautiful  intelligent  eyes,  and  seeing  that  I 
made  no  objection,  she  started  off  without  the 
least  hesitation,  in  a  bee  line,  straight  through 
the  underbrush  of  the  forest.  I  let  her  have 
her  head,  and  the  half  dozen  dogs  silently 
trailed  after  us.  On  we  went  through  the 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       139 

forest,  for  a  long  time,  when  we  suddenly 
came  to  its  edge,  and  I  found  myself  facing 
the  broad,  smooth  turnpike  which  leads  to 
Dinwiddie  Court  House.  But  whether  we 
ought  to  turn  to  the  right  or  to  the  left  I  did 
not  know,  so  I  let  the  mare  decide,  and  she 
chose  her  way  without  the  slightest  hesitation, 
and  in  less  than  an  hour  we  were  at  our 
destination. 

The  tranquil  life  of  the  Hayes  family  in 
the  White  House  ended  as  naturally  and  as 
easily  as  it  had  commenced  and  continued 
during  the  four  years.  We  were  all  sorry  to 
see  them  go,  for  somehow  we  in  the  office  felt 
that  Mrs.  Hayes  had  brought  with  her  and 
would  take  away  that  atmosphere  of  rare 
tenderness  which  we  employees  might  never 
experience  again;  and  I  am  convinced  that 
every  man  and  woman  at  work  in  the  White 
House  was  truly  sorry  to  see  the  family  leave 
it.  Not  merely  the  whole  office  force  did  its 
utmost  to  please  President  Hayes  in  every 
possible  way,  but  all  the  servants  of  whatever 
capacity.  I  never  knew  an  employee  or  a 
servant  to  be  reprimanded  during  the  four 


140    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

years  when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  were  in  the 
White  House. 

The  last  time  I  saw  Mr.  Hayes  was  the 
last  day  he  ever  spent  in  Washington  —  dur 
ing  the  National  Encampment  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  in  1892.  A  reviewing 
stand  had  been  erected  near  the  corner  of  the 
Treasury  Building,  fronting  on  Pennsylvania 
Avenue,  where  a  number  of  persons  sat  watch 
ing  the  great  procession,  and  close  to  this 
stand  a  little  refreshment  room  had  been  ar 
ranged,  the  luncheon  having  been  sent  over 
from  the  White  House,  and  being  served  by 
White  House  waiters.  I  was  standing  at  the 
entrance  of  this  little  refreshment  room  when 
I  happened  to  look  up  Pennsylvania  Avenue 
and  spied  Hayes  turning  the  corner  of  Fif 
teenth  Street  with  his  comrades.  I  hurried 
down  the  line  and  met  him  before  he  reached 
the  stand,  and  invited  him  to  drop  out  of  the 
ranks  and  rest  there.  He  did  so,  and  re 
mained  until  the  parade  was  through. 

That  evening  I  called  upon  him  where  he 
was  visiting  a  friend,  and  we  talked  of  many 
things  that  had  happened  in  years  gone  by. 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES       141 

He  seemed  glad  to  have  me  recall  scenes 
which  had  been  familiar  to  both  of  us,  and  in 
which  Mrs.  Hayes  had  been  the  leading  figure 
-little  happenings  of  their  quiet,  happy, 
home  life  in  the  White  House;  and  when  I 
left  him  it  was  with  the  hope  that  I  might 
often  have  the  privilege  in  future  of  sharing 
such  reminiscences.  But  this  hope  was  not 
to  be  fulfilled.  Mr.  Hayes  never  again  came 
to  Washington ;  and  before  long  he  laid  down 
his  peaceful,  happy  life  here  in  order  to  join 
his  wife  in  one  still  more  peaceful  and  happy 
—  as  he  had  always  expected  to  do. 


WHITE  HOUSE  MEMORIES  OF  PRESIDENT 
GARFIELD  AND  PRESIDENT  ARTHUR 

ONE  of  the  first  evidences  I  had  that  Presi 
dent  Garfield's  family  had  taken  up  their 
home  life  in  the  White  House  occurred  a  few 
days  after  the  fourth  of  March,  1881,  when 
the  new  President  was  inaugurated.  On  the 
third  of  March,  President  Hayes  had  given  a 
great  banquet  in  honor  of  the  incoming  ad 
ministration,  and  the  office  force  was  trying 
to  settle  down  to  routine,  when  I  happened 
to  go  on  an  errand  which  took  me  along  the 
great  corridor  running  through  the  main  floor 
of  the  Executive  Mansion.  I  was  walking 
rapidly,  thinking  hard  about  the  errand,  look 
ing  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  when 
suddenly,  just  as  I  reached  the  foot  of  the 
grand  staircase  leading  to  the  living  rooms  of 
the  President's  family  on  the  floor  above,  I 

142 


PRESIDENTS  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR    143 

was  startled  by  a  shrill  cry  of  warning  shouted 
in  a  boyish  voice: 

"  Hoop-la!!  Get  off  the  track  or  you  '11  be 
run  down!  " 

Without  an  instant's  hesitation  I  sprang  to 
one  side,  and  as  I  did  so  quickly  glanced  up 
ward.  And  there,  perched  on  one  of  the 
old-fashioned  bicycles  with  a  high  wheel,  was 
President  Garfield's  young  son  Irving,  coast 
ing  down  that  staircase  like  lightning.  In  an 
instant  he  had  reached  the  foot  of  it,  "  zipped  " 
across  the  broad  corridor,  and  with  skill  little 
short  of  marvelous  turned  into  the  East  Room, 
the  flashing  steel  spokes  of  his  wheel  vanish 
ing  like  the  tail  of  a  comet. 

I  stood  still  for  a  moment  and  gasped.  I 
confess  that  I  was  paralyzed  for  that  moment. 
That  any  small  boy,  even  a  son  of  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  would  dare  to 
start  at  the  head  of  that  great  staircase  on  a 
bicycle  and  coast  down  it  was  almost  unbe 
lievable;  and  that  he  would  do  so  as  suc 
cessfully  as  a  trained  circus  performer  was 
beyond  my  comprehension.  These  thoughts 
flared  their  way  across  my  astonished  brain 


144    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

in  the  fraction  of  a  minute,  and  the  next 
second  I  sprang  forward  to  the  door  of  the 
East  Room  to  pick  up  the  dismembered  re 
mains  of  Irving  Garfield.  But  it  was  not 
necessary.  That  enterprising  American  young 
ster  was  still  on  his  high  wheel,  and  was 
treading  it  around  and  around  the  great  East 
Room  with  evident  satisfaction  to  himself, 
wholly  regardless  of  two  or  three  attendants 
who  stood  with  their  backs  as  close  as  they 
could  get  them  to  the  wall,  their  faces 
gray  with  horror  and  apprehension,  as  the 
young  human  comet  flashed  past  them  in 
his  orbit  around  and  around  the  most  mag 
nificent  apartment  of  state  in  the  Western 
Hemisphere. 

But  before  many  weeks  had  passed  by,  I 
got  used  to  such  boyish  pranks,  as  did  the 
doorkeepers  and  the  servants  of  the  Execu 
tive  Mansion.  For  every  once  in  a  while, 
when  the  President  was  surely  engrossed  in 
some  protracted  meeting  in  the  Cabinet  Room 
or  elsewhere,  and  when  Mrs.  Garfield  was 
away  —  driving  into  the  country  perhaps  — 
young  Irving  Garfield  did  not  hesitate  to 


PRESIDENTS  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR     145 

bring  three  or  four  of  his  boy  friends  and 
their  bicycles  into  the  East  Room,  where  they 
would  hold  a  series  of  races.  The  room  was 
eminently  suited  to  such  purposes,  because  it 
contained  little  furniture  and  because  of  its 
spacious  extent.  The  carpet,  too,  was  firm 
and  smooth,  although  soft  enough  to  prevent 
the  wheels  from  "  skidding."  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  such  pranks  never  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  either  President  Garfield  or  his 
wife,  for  no  member  of  the  White  House  staff 
would  tell  tales  out  of  school.  It  was  not  our 
business  to  regulate  such  affairs.  But  this 
example  had  a  curious  precedent. 

Shortly  before  that  time  bicycling  came 
into  general  use  in  this  country,  and  when 
President  Hayes's  family  were  away  for  the 
summer,  several  of  the  clerks  in  the  Execu 
tive  Office  purchased  wheels  and  learned  to 
ride  by  practicing  in  that  same  East  Room. 
That  such  a  thing  could  ever  have  happened 
in  the  White  House  seems  almost  incredible 
to-day,  but  it  is  a  fact,  and  only  shows  what 
great  changes  for  better  discipline  and  more 
business-like  conduct  of  affairs  have  taken 
place  in  the  last  three  decades. 


146    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

President  Garfield  was  fifty  years  old  when 
he  came  to  the  White  House,  and  Mrs.  Gar- 
field  was  but  one  year  younger.  Both  had 
risen  from  humble  stations  in  life,  and  like 
so  many  other  young  men  and  women  in  that 
generation  they  had  studied  as  hard  as  they 
had  worked.  They  had  absorbed  uncon 
sciously  the  atmosphere  of  progressive  culture 
while  Garfield  was  making  his  way  to  the 
presidency  of  Hiram  College,  —  at  the  age 
of  twenty-six  years,  —  and  then  through  an 
increasingly  important  political  and  military 
career.  Consequently,  when  they  came  to  live 
in  the  White  House,  they  stood  on  perfect 
equality  with  personages  of  the  highest  social 
station  in  Europe  as  well  as  in  this  country. 

Mrs.  Garfield  was  at  the  White  House  for 
only  about  three  months  before  she  became 
ill,  and  was  removed  to  Long  Branch  in  June, 
because  the  heat  of  a  Washington  summer 
already  had  commenced.  And  it  was  only  a 
month  later  when  the  President  was  shot. 
For  this  reason  there  are  comparatively  few 
details  to  be  told  concerning  the  Garfield 
family  life  in  the  White  House;  and  for  the 


PRESIDENTS  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR    147 

same  reason  it  was  not  my  privilege  to  be 
come  as  well  acquainted  with  President  Gar- 
field's  family  as  would  otherwise  have  been 
the  case. 

Mrs.  Garfield  was  rather  slender  than 
plump,  with  a  sweet,  pleasant  face  and  dark 
hair  and  eyes.  The  Garfield  children  were 
James  Rudolph,  Harry,  "  Mollie,"  Irving, 
and  little  Abram.  James  and  Harry  were 
then  preparing  for  college,  and  a  small  room 
at  the  northeast  end  of  the  White  House  was 
set  aside  as  their  study.  I  had  a  large  desk 
made  for  this  room,  seating  four  people,  with 
a  set  of  drawers  on  each  of  the  four  sides,  - 
the  only  desk  of  its  kind  I  ever  saw.  And 
there  the  boys  studied  every  morning  and 
every  afternoon,  together  with  Donald,  the 
son  of  Colonel  Rockwell,  Superintendent  of 
Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  who  was  an 
intimate  friend  of  the  Garfield  family.  Each 
day  their  tutor  arrived, —  Dr.  W.  H.  Hawkes, 
who  later  practiced  medicine  in  Washington 
and  has  since  died.  James  and  Harry  were 
both  of  studious  habits  and  paid  close  atten 
tion  to  their  books,  as  did  young  Rockwell. 


148    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

All  of  the  boys  and  their  tutor  were  punctual 
to  the  minute,  working  hard  from  nine  o'clock 
until  lunch  was  served,  and  also  spending  most 
of  the  afternoon  over  their  books. 

When  a  President  is  inaugurated,  he  is  so 
occupied  with  new  duties  that  no  formal  en 
tertainments  of  a  social  nature  are  given  by 
him  until  the  following  New  Year's  Day ;  con 
sequently,  there  was  no  elaborate  entertaining 
of  guests  during  President  Garfield's  short  oc 
cupancy  of  the  White  House.  The  children 
invited  their  young  friends  there,  and  a  few 
intimates  of  the  President  and  his  wife  called 
on  them  and  sometimes  stayed  to  lunch  or 
dinner.  Other  than  these,  however,  there  was 
no  attempt  made  to  entertain.  I  never  hap 
pened  to  see  dear  old  "  Grandma  "  Garfield  — 
the  President's  mother.  But  his  love  for  her 
was  shown  in  many  ways  during  his  life,  and 
when  she  came  to  the  White  House,  feeble  be 
cause  of  age,  she  found  that  her  son  had  built 
an  elevator  for  her  use,  as  she  was  unable  to 
walk  upstairs.  This  was  the  first  time  an  ele 
vator  was  ever  put  in  the  White  House. 

Mrs.  Garfield  had  no  secretary,  and  her  cor- 


PRESIDENTS  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR    149 

respondence  was  attended  to  in  the  usual  way. 
She  was  very  fond  of  driving,  as  was  her  hus 
band,  and  they  used  to  go  out  together  in  a 
carriage  whenever  possible.  Both  were  inter 
ested  in  the  flowers  and  shrubs  in  the  conserva 
tories  and  gardens  of  the  White  House,  and 
the  President  never  hesitated  to  walk  around 
the  city  alone,  unaccompanied  by  a  guard  or 
other  attendant.  When  Mrs.  Grant  left  the 
White  House,  her  old  housekeeper,  Mrs.  Mul 
len  went  with  her;  and  Mrs.  Garfield,  like  Mrs. 
Hayes,  had  no  housekeeper,  although  President 
Hayes's  steward,  W.  T.  Crump,  stayed  on 
under  Garfield's  administration.  Crump  was 
devoted  to  Garfield;  and,  after  the  President 
was  shot,  helped  to  care  for  him  in  the  sick 
room.  Once,  in  lifting  the  President,  to  ease 
him  while  lying  in  bed  with  that  terrible  wound, 
Crump  injured  his  own  back  so  seriously  that 
he  never  got  over  it  as  long  as  he  lived. 

The  story  of  Garfield's  assassination  by  Gui- 
teau  is  too  well  known  to  need  another  rela 
tion  here,  but  several  little  incidents  of  White 
House  life  connected  with  that  tragedy  may 
be  of  interest  to  my  readers.  Mrs.  Garfield 


150    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

had  been  ill  and  was  recuperating  at  Long 
Branch,  when  the  President  arranged  to  start 
for  an  extended  tour  through  New  England, 
leaving  Washington  on  July  2, 1881,  and  going 
by  way  of  New  York  City,  where  Mrs.  Gar- 
field  was  to  join  him.  The  party  which  was  to 
accompany  him  from  Washington  consisted 
of  his  children,  Harry,  and  James,  and  Miss 
Mollie  Garfield;  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Rockwell, 
and  their  children,  Don  and  Miss  Lulu  Rock 
well;  Dr.  W.  H.  Hawkes;  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  and  Mrs.  Windom;  the  Post 
master  General  and  Mrs.  James;  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Navy  and  Mrs.  Hunt;  the  Sec 
retary  of  War;  Judge  Advocate  General 
Swain,  and  Col.  Jamison,  of  the  Post  Office 
Department. 

From  New  York  they  were  to  go  to  Irving- 
ton  on  the  Hudson  to  spend  Sunday ;  on  Mon 
day  to  Williamstown,  Mass.,  there  to  stay  un 
til  Thursday  noon  in  order  that  the  President 
could  take  part  in  the  commencement  exercises 
of  Williams  College,  where  he  had  been  grad 
uated.  They  were  to  journey  thence  to  St. 
Albans,  Vt.,  spending  Friday  there,  and  going 


PRESIDENTS  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR     151 

on  Saturday  to  the  White  Mountains  for  a 
quiet  Sunday,  intending  to  ascend  Mt.  Wash 
ington  on  Monday.  The  following  day  their 
intention  was  to  go  to  Portland,  Me.,  and  to 
Augusta,  where  the  Presidential  party  would 
be  the  guest  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  Mr. 
Elaine  had  obtained  a  revenue  cutter  on 
which  the  guests  were  to  sail  along  the  Maine 
coast,  visiting  Mt.  Desert,  and  other  places  of 
interest;  thereafter  returning  home  by  way 
of  Concord,  N.  H.,  Hartford  and  New  Haven, 
and  two  or  three  other  places. 

As  may  be  readily  imagined  all  who  were 
fortunate  enough  to  be  included  in  the  Presi 
dential  party  looked  forward  eagerly  to  this 
extended  outing,  especially  the  younger  mem 
bers  thereof,  who  had  thought  and  thought 
about  it  for  days.  President  Garfield  was  es 
pecially  pleased,  because  his  wife  had  so  far 
recovered  her  strength  that  she  would  be  able 
to  leave  Long  Branch  and  join  him  at  New 
York. 

I  shall  not  forget  that  morning  of  July  2, 
1881.  I  left  my  home  very  early,  and  went  to 
the  White  House  to  see  the  President,  and  also 


152    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

to  attend  to  a  business  matter  with  his  Secre 
tary,  Mr.  J.  Stanley  Brown,  who  was  starting 
for  Europe.  As  I  reached  the  Mansion,  I  saw 
Guiteau,  who  was  coming  down  the  steps  lead 
ing  to  the  main  entrance,  and  hurrying  on  I 
demanded  of  the  doorkeeper, 

c  What  does  that  fellow  want  here  to-day? 
I  thought  we  'd  got  rid  of  him!  " 

"  He  came  as  usual  and  asked  how  the  Presi 
dent  was,"  the  doorkeeper  replied.  And  I 
went  to  the  office  more  disturbed  inwardly  than 
I  cared  to  show. 

The  President  and  his  children  were  to  leave 
the  White  House  in  plenty  of  time  to  catch  the 
limited  express  for  the  North  which  was  to 
start  from  the  Old  Baltimore  and  Potomac 
Depot  at  half -past  nine  o'clock.  Before  break 
fast  was  served  one  of  the  doorkeepers,  Ricker, 
went  from  the  main  floor  to  the  living  quarters 
of  the  family  to  find  Mr.  Garfield.  Hearing 
shouts  of  laughter  in  a  room  occupied  by 
"  Jim  "  and  Harry  Garfield,  Ricker  went  di 
rectly  there  to  ask  where  the  President  was, 
and  as  he  approached  the  open  door  he  saw  the 
two  boys  turning  handsprings  on  the  bed. 


PRESIDENTS  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR     153 

Garfield  himself  was  in  the  room,  and  said  to 
his  sons, 

'  I  think  I  can  do  that  as  well  as  you  can." 
Whereupon  Ricker  saw  the  President  of  the 
United  States  step  forward  without  an  in 
stant's  hesitation,  spring  up  into  the  air,  land 
on  his  hands,  and  without  apparent  effort  turn 
a  perfect  handspring,  coming  down  lightly  and 
firmly  on  his  feet,  to  the  surprise  of  his  two 
young  sons  and  to  the  amazement  of  the  door 
keeper  who  had  been  sent  to  find  him. 

Only  an  hour  or  so  later  Garfield  left  the 
White  House  for  his  summer  outing,  as  other 
Presidents  have  left  it  year  after  year,  with 
out  a  thought  of  impending  danger.  I  was  not 
sorry  to  see  him  go  away,  for  although  Guiteau 
had  been  refused  admittance  to  the  White 
House  for  some  time,  yet  he  kept  calling  there 
every  morning  to  ask  after  the  President's 
health.  I  tried  to  reassure  myself  with  the 
general  conviction  around  the  Executive 
Office  that  this  man,  while  undoubtedly  a 
crank,  was  a  harmless  crank  —  one  of  the 
familar  type  of  partly  responsible  people 
who  are  always  trying  to  see  every  Presi- 


154    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

dent.  Yet,  because  of  my  experience  while 
personal  body-guard  to  Lincoln,  I  was  al 
ways  scenting  possible  danger,  although  fre 
quently  laughed  at  by  my  friends  for  so  doing. 
And  altogether  I  was  not  sorry  to  learn  that 
President  Garfield  was  on  his  way  out  of  the 
city.  Perhaps  while  he  was  gone  Guiteau 
might  so  conduct  himself  that  he  could  be 
legally  locked  up  in  an  asylum. 

Word  reached  the  Executive  Mansion,  only 
a  little  while  after  President  Garfield  had 
left  there,  that  he  had  been  shot.  A  mes 
sage  was  flashed  at  once  to  Mrs.  Garfield, 
who  started  for  Washington  as  soon  as  she 
received  it,  and  from  then  until  the  wounded 
President  was  taken  to  Elberon  everything 
possible  was  done  at  the  White  House 
to  save  the  slender  thread  of  life  which 
still  remained.  Scarcely  had  he  been  carried 
within  doors  of  the  Executive  Mansion  than 
a  strong  force  of  police  was  rushed  there  and 
a  guard  instantly  thrown  around  the  extensive 
grounds,  nobody  being  admitted  without  a 
special  permit.  My  duties  were  such  that  it 
was  absolutely  necessary  for  me  to  be  able  to 


PRESIDENTS  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR    155 

enter  and  leave  the  grounds  and  the  Executive 
Mansion,  and  the  first  permit  that  was  issued 
and  signed  by  the  President's  Secretary,  Mr. 
J.  Stanley  Brown,  was  an  order  for  the  police 
to  admit  me  in  and  out  at  all  times. 

As  soon  as  the  surgeons  ascertained  how  seri 
ously  the  President  was  wounded,  certain  steps 
were  taken  which  were  necessary  for  the  trans 
action  of  government  business.  The  President 
was  unable,  of  course,  to  sign  papers  or  docu 
ments,  and  very  soon  I  received  an  order  to 
have  a  stamp  made,  containing  a  facsimile  of 
Mr.  Garfield's  signature,  this  to  be  attached 
to  important  documents.  While  unable  to 
speak  positively,  I  have  always  understood 
that  this  stamp  was  used  a  great  many  times 
by  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Elaine.  I  think 
it  is  the  only  time  that  such  a  stamp  has  ever 
been  made  for  the  use  of  any  President,  un 
less  possibly  in  the  case  of  William  Henry 
Harrison,  while  he  was  lying  ill  in  the  White 
House,  where  he  died. 

One  day  I  received  word  that  the  consulting 
surgeons  thought  the  President's  strength  might 
be  increased  were  he  to  have  some  squirrel 


156    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

soup,  of  which  he  was  very  fond,  and  I  was 
notified  to  be  ready  whenever  the  doctors 
should  send  word,  to  go  out  and  shoot  some 
squirrels.  This  intention  was  communicated 
to  General  Sturgis,  then  Commandant  of  the 
Soldiers'  Home,  who  at  once  rushed  over  to 
me  a  permit  to  shoot  squirrels  in  the  grounds 
surrounding  the  Home,  for  the  purpose  men 
tioned.  I  think  this  is  the  only  time  that  an 
order  was  ever  issued  permitting  any  one  to 
go  gunning  in  those  grounds.  But  I  never 
used  the  permit,  for  the  doctors  never  sent  me 
word  to  go  out  after  the  squirrels. 

One  of  the  members  of  the  Executive  Office 
staff  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Garfield's,  Mr. 
Warren  S.  Young,  who  was  in  the  Treasury 
Department  when  Garfield  was  inaugurated. 
Thereupon  Mr.  Garfield  brought  him  to  the 
Executive  Office,  knowing  that  he  could  rely 
upon  him  at  any  time  to  carry  out  the  most 
difficult  tasks.  As  soon  as  the  President  was 
taken  to  Elberon,  Mr.  Young  was  sent  there, 
and  there  he  remained  until  Garfield  died.  It 
is  not  known  generally  that  Mr.  Young  acci 
dentally  gave  to  the  country  the  news  of  Gar- 


PRESIDENTS  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR    157 

field's  death.  He  was  in  the  room  where  tHe 
President  lay,  and  when  the  end  came  he  hur 
ried  out  on  an  errand  of  importance.  A  mo 
ment  later  he  ran  into  the  army  of  newspaper 
correspondents  waiting  outside,  who  formed 
the  "  death  watch "  on  the  President.  Al 
most  overwhelmed  by  the  sad  event  which  had 
just  occurred,  Mr.  Young  did  not  understand 
a  question  which  one  of  the  correspondents 
asked  him  as  he  passed  the  group,  and  thinking 
it  must  have  been  regarding  the  President's 
condition,  he  replied: 

"  Yes,  it 's  all  over." 

Hardly  had  the  words  escaped  his  lips  when 
that  squad  of  newspaper  men  sped  off  to  the 
telegraph  office  like  bird-shot  fired  out  of  a 
gun.  When  I  recalled  this  happening  to  Mr. 
Young,  only  yesterday,  he  said  that  in  all  his 
life  since  then  he  has  never  seen  anything  like 
the  way  those  correspondents  whirled  around 
at  his  words  and  darted  off  toward  the 
wires. 

*  They  did  not  wait  to  ask  anything  further," 
he  said;  "  President  Garfield  had  just  died. 
Their  business  was  to  get  that  single  sentence 


158    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

into  their  newspaper  offices  at  the  earliest  pos 
sible  second.  And  they  did  so." 

Mr.  Young,  by  the  way,  is  still  a  member  of 
the  staff  of  the  Executive  Office.  «At  present 
he  looks  after  all  the  dinners,  lawn  parties,  and 
musicales  given  at  the  White  House,  making 
up  lists  of  invitations  from  instructions  given 
him  by  the  Lady  of  the  White  House,  arrang 
ing  for  the  seating  of  guests  at  the  state  din 
ners,  and  preparing  and  sending  invitations. 
All  this  is  very  responsible  work  —  requiring 
not  merely  good  taste,  but  exact  knowledge 
of  social  forms  and  requirements,  as  well  as  a 
wide  and  absolute  understanding  of  the  order 
of  precedence  of  the  many  officials,  and  of 
members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  etc.,  who 
strictly  observe  such  matters  of  etiquette. 

Although  my  own  personal  knowledge  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Garfield  was  limited,  yet  I  have 
learned  a  great  deal  about  them  from  people 
who  knew  them  well  and  intimately,  and  who 
would  have  no  reason  for  telling  me  anything 
but  the  exact  truth.  A  loving,  devoted  couple 
were  General  and  Mrs.  Garfield  to  the  end. 


v 


Chester  A.  Arthur 


PRESIDENTS   GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR    159 

Chester  A.  Arthur,  Vice-president  of  the 
United  States,  was  sworn  in  as  President  at 
New  York,  the  day  Garfield  died.  He  came  at 
once  to  Washington  and  established  himself 
in  General  Butler's  house  on  Capitol  Hill. 
At  the  time  this  was  a  fine  modern  residence, 
built  of  granite,  with  spacious  rooms,  beauti 
fully  finished  and  elegantly  furnished.  The 
first  floor  was  entirely  given  up  to  general  of 
fices,  while  Mr.  Arthur  had  his  private  office 
on  the  second  floor.  It  was  not  until  weeks 
afterward  that  he  came  to  the  White  House 
to  reside  there;  and  in  the  meantime  messen 
gers  were  constantly  going  back  and  forth, 
carrying  mail  to  and  from  the  President,  and 
all  sorts  of  papers  and  documents  which  needed 
his  inspection  and  signature. 

Mrs.  Garfield  had  been  able  to  do  little  in 
the  way  of  re- furnishing  the  White  House,  be 
cause  she  had  been  there  for  such  a  short  time. 
So  during  the  weeks  that  Arthur  lived  in  Gen 
eral  Butler's  old  home  he  generally  came  to  the 
Executive  Mansion  every  evening  after  dinner, 
and  made  a  thorough  inspection  of  the  offices 
and  state  apartments  and  living  rooms  above 


160    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

them.  Night  after  night  he  would  go  from 
room  to  room  and  corridor  to  corridor,  giving 
orders  to  change  this  and  that  according  to  his 
own  taste,  and  in  the  daytime  upholsterers 
and  others  were  busily  engaged  in  carrying  out 
his  wishes.  If  Garfield  had  lived,  certain  re 
pairs  would  have  been  made,  for,  owing  to  the 
semi-public  character  of  the  White  House,  the 
wrear  and  tear  on  furniture  and  hangings  is 
considerable.  But  President  Arthur's  repairs 
were  not  very  extensive. 

When  he  finally  came  there  to  live,  his  fam 
ily  consisted  of  his  sister  Mrs.  McElroy ;  a  son, 
Chester  A.  Arthur,  Jr.,  who  was  always  called 
Allan;  and  his  daughter  Nelly,  a  pretty  girl 
of  the  brunette  type,  who  was  about  fourteen 
or  fifteen  years  of  age.  Mrs.  McElroy  was  a 
widow,  of  medium  size,  sweet-faced  and  pleas 
ant,  but  of  decisive  manner  when  giving  orders. 
Like  her  brother,  she  knew  exactly  what  she 
wanted,  and  how  she  wanted  it  done;  and  she 
never  hesitated  to  express  her  wishes  clearly. 
During  Arthur's  term,  she  was,  of  course, 
known  as  the  "  Mistress  of  the  White  House." 

Allan  Arthur  was  a  student  at  Princeton  — 


PRESIDENTS  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR    161 

a  tall,  handsome  young  fellow  with  piercing 
black  eyes  and  white  skin.  He  was  very  slender 
indeed,  and  bright  and  clever.  Like  his  father, 
he  was  extremely  fond  of  horses;  although 
unlike  the  President  in  that  he  enjoyed  driving 
them  himself.  I  have  always  understood  that 
he  did  well  at  college,  but  occasionally  he  had  an 
irresistible  desire  to  escape  from  the  classic 
shades  and  academic  groves  of  the  quiet  college 
town,  and  he  would  suddenly  appear  in  Wash 
ington  without  notice.  President  Arthur  used 
to  be  surprised  every  once  in  a  while  by  unex 
pectedly  seeing  Allan  at  the  breakfast  table, 
when  he  supposed  the  young  man  to  be  delving 
away  at  his  studies  at  Princeton.  But  that 
never  bothered  Allan  to  any  extent.  When  the 
spirit  moved  him,  he  would  simply  step  on  a 
train  at  Princeton  and  bolt  through  to  Wash 
ington  as  soon  as  he  could  get  here.  He  had 
many  friends  in  the  city,  among  whom  he  was 
a  great  favorite;  and  it  did  not  make  any  dif 
ference  to  him  whether  he  arrived  here  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  or  at  ten  o'clock  at 
night.  The  first  thing  Allan  would  do  would 
be  to  order  his  team  of  horses  from  the  White 


162    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

House  stables.  Then  off  he  would  whirl  to  call 
upon  some  young  lady,  if  it  were  not  too  late ; 
or  to  ring  up  some  of  his  young  men  friends. 
He  was  of  a  happy  disposition  in  those  student 
days,  and  when  he  was  home  on  vacation  he 
did  much  to  add  to  the  gayety  at  the  White 
House. 

The  usual  period  of  mourning,  after  Gar- 
field's  death,  was  strictly  observed  in  and 
around  the  Mansion,  and  there  was  no  formal 
entertaining  until  New  Year's  Day,  1882,  when 
Mr.  Arthur  gave  his  first  public  reception. 
Then,  as  now,  this  New  Year's  Day  affair  was 
attended  by  several  thousand  persons,  all  of 
whom  met  and  were  greeted  by  the  President. 
The  reception  commenced  at  about  one  o'clock, 
and  lasted  during  a  greater  part  of  the  after 
noon.  Notwithstanding  Garfield's  assassina 
tion,  Mr.  Arthur  had  no  body-guard  while  he 
was  President,  and,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  no 
attempt  was  ever  made  to  do  him  harm. 

After  the  beginning  of  the  new  year,  the 
usual  state  dinners  were  held,  and  also  a  larger 
number  of  private  entertainments  of  various 
kinds  than  I  had  ever  known  before  in  the 


PRESIDENTS  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR    163 

White  House.  Mr.  Arthur  was  a  different 
type  of  man  from  any  who  had  preceded  him 
during  my  experience  there,  and  he  was  accus 
tomed  to  that  light-heartedness  and  efferves 
cence  which  has  long  distinguished  social  life  in 
New  York  City.  The  new  President  was  a 
large,  heavy,  tall  man,  strikingly  handsome  and 
possessing  the  Chesterfieldian  manner.  He  de 
lighted  to  entertain  his  friends ;  he  wanted  the 
best  of  everything,  and  wanted  it  served  in 
the  best  manner.  He  was  the  first  President, 
so  far  as  I  know,  to  have  a  valet,  and  one  was 
needed,  for  Mr.  Arthur  dressed  fashionably, 
and  his  clothes  were  generally  made  in  New 
York.  He  was  always  well  groomed;  almost 
faultless  in  his  dress. 

In  the  afternoon  he  was  fond  of  driving 
around  the  city,  or  through  the  country  near 
by,  and  always  had  a  gentleman  with  him,  for 
he  positively  disliked  to  be  alone.  Sometimes 
he  used  his  victoria,  and  occasionally  rode  in  the 
saddle;  but  most  of  all  he  enjoyed  his  four- 
in-hand.  These  horses  were  bays,  almost  per 
fectly  matched,  and  when  they  started  off 
through  the  White  House  grounds,  driven  by 


164    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

William  Williss,  a  colored  man  and  a  very  fine 
horseman,  with  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  several  ladies  and  gentlemen  seated 
in  the  carriage,  the  equipage  made  a  brave 
showing  indeed. 

Mr.  Arthur  never  drove  horses  himself  and 
he  did  not  walk  a  great  deal  or  take  much 
other  exercise.  But  what  he  loved  to  do  was  to 
drive  out  and  then  bring  home  a  merry  com 
pany  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  to  dinner,  which 
would  be  presided  over  by  Mrs.  McElroy,  and 
afterwards  spend  the  evening  in  light-hearted 
talk, — telling  stories,  smoking  excellent  cigars, 
and  winding  up  with  an  elaborate  supper  at 
midnight  or  later. 

Mrs.  McElroy  had  her  afternoons  at  home, 
following  the  usual  custom  of  the  ladies  of  the 
White  House,  when  she  would  receive  inti 
mate  friends  as  well  as  those  in  official  life 
who  were  entitled  to  be  present.  On  such  oc 
casions  the  Marine  Band  rendered  fine  music, 
and  the  same  atmosphere  of  gayety  was  pres 
ent  that  always  distinguished  social  life  during 
the  Arthur  administration.  Miss  Nelly  Arthur 
was  too  young  to  appear  at  formal  affairs,  but 


PRESIDENTS   GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR    165 

she  had  a  number  of  congenial  young  friends 
who  were  welcomed  by  Mrs.  McElroy,  and 
who  thoroughly  enjoyed  their  visits  at  the 
White  House. 

President  Arthur  and  his  household  spent  a 
considerable  part  of  each  summer  at  the  Sol 
diers'  Home,  and  there  he  maintained  his 
usual  mode  of  life  —  that  of  a  man  who  pos 
sesses  an  intensely  social  nature.  "  Aleck  " 
Powell,  his  colored  valet,  always  went  with  him 
when  he  was  called  out  of  town,  and,  of  course, 
attended  him  during  the  summer  sojourns. 
Arthur,  by  the  way,  was  the  last  President  to 
use  the  beautiful  house  built  out  there  espe 
cially  for  the  summer  residence  of  the  Presi 
dents.  This  house,  in  the  grounds  of  the 
Soldiers'  Home,  is  of  brick,  covered  with 
a  form  of  stucco  which  Washingtonians  call 
"  pebble-dash."  It  is  large  enough  for  the 
use  for  which  it  was  intended,  and  completely 
furnished.  Owing  perhaps  to  the  increased 
ease  of  communication  between  Washington 
and  summer  resorts  far  distant,  it  has  not  been 
considered  necessary  or  even  advisable  of  late 
years  for  the  President  to  spend  the  hottest 


166    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

months  of  the  year  at  this  official  summer  resi 
dence.  Mr.  Arthur,  however,  spent  his  sum 
mers  there,  and  there  Mrs.  McElroy  also  was 
in  charge. 

As  a  rule  the  Lady  of  the  White  House  is 
not  supposed  to  go  into  society  as  freely  as  if 
she  were  not  a  member  of  the  President's  fam 
ily;  so  Mrs.  McElroy  used  to  visit  only  the 
homes  of  her  few  intimate  friends.  She  had 
excellent  judgment  in  matters  concerning 
White  House  affairs,  and  some  of  the  china 
of  the  Arthur  administration  is  an  evidence 
of  it.  It  was  not  necessary  for  a  full  set  of 
china  to  be  purchased  for  the  use  of  President 
Arthur,  but  a  great  many  individual  pieces 
were  ordered  to  replenish  those  which  had  been 
broken. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  since  I  have  been  in  the 
White  House,  there  have  been  only  five  com 
plete  sets  of  china  brought  there;  and  these 
were  for  the  administrations  of  Lincoln,  Grant, 
Hayes,  Harrison,  and  Roosevelt.  A  full  set 
of  White  House  china  means  a  great  deal.  It 
means  that  there  must  be  a  breakfast  and  a 
luncheon  and  a  dinner  service  consisting  of 


PRESIDENTS  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR    167 

everything  that  can  be  thought  of  for  the  use 
of  the  head  of  the  nation  and  his  family,  his 
personal  guests,  and  the  large  number  of  of 
ficial  guests  who  gather  at  state  entertainments. 
Owing  to  the  breakage,  especially  of  glass,  a 
large  part  of  the  several  services  has  to  be 
replaced  from  time  to  time.  Very  little  silver 
is  lost  or  broken,  and  much  of  the  old  plate 
dating  from  Lincoln's  time  is  still  in  use.  This 
silver,  and  the  gold  plate,  consisting'  of  such 
things  as  knives,  has  been  in  the  charge  of  the 
stewards  of  the  various  administrations.  Presi 
dent  Arthur's  steward  was  under  a  bond  of 
ten  thousand  dollars,  and  of  course  was  re 
sponsible  for  the  valuable  property  placed  in 
his  care. 

During  Arthur's  term  the  Marshal  of  the 
District  was  Mr.  Morton  McMichael,  2d,  of 
Philadelphia,  who  created  the  innovation  of  or 
dering  the  doorkeepers  of  the  White  House  to 
wear  a  bit  of  ribbon  in  the  lapel  of  their  coats 
to  distinguish  them  from  guests.  In  Mr. 
Arthur's  administration  no  military  man  had 
any  official  duties  in  connection  with  White 
House  entertainments. 


168    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

The  years  from  1881  to  1885  passed  by  with 
little  to  distinguish  them  sharply  from  the 
preceding  years,  except  for  the  atmosphere  of 
gayety  and  joyousness  which  I  have  already 
mentioned. 

When  March  4,  1885,  arrived,  the  incoming 
President,  Mr.  Cleveland,  drove  to  the  capi- 
tol  accompanied  by  Mr.  Arthur  and  then  they 
returned  to  the  White  House.  The  outgoing 
President  did  not  remain  for  the  elaborate 
luncheon  he  had  ordered  prepared  for  Mr. 
Cleveland,  but  bade  him  good-bye  and  went 
quietly  away  from  the  Executive  Mansion. 
While  bidding  farewell  to  some  who  had  been 
closely  allied  with  him  in  the  White  House, 
tears  coursed  down  Mr.  Arthur's  face.  After 
he  left  the  White  House  he  sent  me  authoriza 
tion  to  dispose  of  his  horses  and  carriages  at 
auction,  to  the  best  advantage,  and  I  did  so. 


VI 

WHILE    MRS.    CLEVELAND    WAS 
"MISTRESS    OF    THE    WHITE    HOUSE" 

THE  home  life  of  President  Cleveland  in  the 
White  House  was  so  enveloped  and  irradiated 
by  the  rare  personality  of  Mrs.  Cleveland,  that 
all  of  us  who  had  to  do  with  the  Executive 
Mansion  in  the  two  Cleveland  administrations 
think,  first  of  all,  of  that  perfectly  charming 
and  beautiful  woman;  for  the  moment  forget 
ting  that  Mr.  Cleveland  had  occupied  the 
White  House  as  a  bachelor  from  March  4, 
1885,  until  June  2,  1886,  the  later  date  being 
his  wedding  day. 

The  fourth  day  of  March,  1885,  was  a  bright 
and  beautiful  day;  one  which  the  admirers  of 
the  President-elect  designated  as  a  "  Cleve 
land  Day  "  -  because  they  claimed  that  good 
weather  always  preceded  any  event  in  which 
he  was  interested.  Whether  or  not  this  suppo- 

169 


170    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

sition  was  true,  the  fact  remains  that  it  was  a 
balmy  spring  day,  and  the  hosts  of  citizens  from 
all  over  the  country  who  were  present  and  wit 
nessed  the  installation  of  the  first  Democratic 
President  in  twenty-five  years  fairly  reveled 
in  the  unusual  conditions. 

Unlike  most  of  his  illustrious  predecessors 
during  my  long  term  in  the  White  House, 
President  Cleveland  did  not  visit  the  Execu 
tive  Office  and  become  acquainted  with  the  em 
ployees  for  some  days.    And  it  was  more  than 
a  week  perhaps  before  some  of  those  engaged 
therein  had  an  opportunity  to  speak  to  him. 
Indeed,  some  were  never  introduced  to  him. 
The  great  building  was  over-run  with  stran 
gers,  who  came  there  in  droves,  some  declaring 
that  they  had  not  looked  into  the  Executive 
Mansion  since  the  days  of  Buchanan.    On  the 
fifth  day  of  March,  I  administered  the  oath 
of  office  to  Colonel  Lamont,  the  new  private 
secretary  to  the  President,  and  it  was  without 
fear  of  removal  that  the  office  force  saw  him 
take  charge,  as  all  believed  implicitly  that  Mr. 
Cleveland  would  remove  nobody  from  office 
except  for  cause,  and  a  good  cause  at  that. 


MRS.   CLEVELAND   IN  WHITE  HOUSE     171 

A  good  many  interesting  things  happened 
during  President  Cleveland's  first  few  days  in 
the  White  House,  and  I  remember  an  amusing 
occurrence  which  happened  on  March  8,  when 
a  grand  rush  was  made  toward  the  Executive 
Mansion  by  delegations  representing  a  number 
of  Presbyterian  churches  in  Washington,  each 
being  desirous  and  determined  to  secure  the 
President's  membership.  The  New  York 
Avenue  Church,  for  example,  where  Mr.  Lin 
coln  used  to  worship,  sent  a  special  delegation 
of  ladies  to  call  upon  the  President,  and  as  they 
approached  the  White  House  on  the  north  side 
Mr.  Cleveland  and  Colonel  Lamont  quietly 
left  by  the  south  entrance  and  went  for  a  drive. 
In  doing  so  the  President  had  not  the  slightest 
intention  of  showing  any  discourtesy  to  the 
ladies  wrho  were  appointed  to  bring  him  into 
their  particular  church,  but  he  did  not  wish  to 
decide  just  then  regarding  church  attendance, 
and  he  was  so  tender-hearted  and  so  kindly 
disposed  that  it  was  almost  impossible  for  him 
to  refuse  any  request  in  reason  that  a  woman 
might  make  of  him. 

It  is  well  known,  of  course,  that  Mr,  Cleve- 


172    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

land  was  a  plain,  simple  man,  who  had  no 
desire  to  make  himself  prominent,  and  who  was 
greatly  distressed  by  the  importunities  of  a 
large  number  of  newspaper  correspondents 
who  were  determined  to  find  out  all  about  his 
movements  day  by  day,  and  hour  by  hour. 
The  Democratic  hosts  who  had  swept  him  into 
the  Presidential  chair  had  given  the  country 
at  large  to  understand  that  under  this  first 
Democratic  President  in  a  quarter  of  a  cen 
tury  there  would  be  an  entirely  new  deal- 
business  would  be  transacted  very  differently 
from  the  way  in  which  it  had  been  carried  on 
by  Republican  Presidents;  the  new  executive 
and  his  official  supporters  "  would  show  the 
country  how  things  ought  to  be  run  on  purely 
American  lines." 

All  this  and  much  more  to  the  same  effect 
had  aroused  the  interest  and  curiosity  of  the 
nation  to  such  an  extent  that  the  newspapers 
felt  it  incumbent  upon  them  to  print  the  most 
careful  details  concerning  all  the  President 
did,  and  said,  and  thought  —  so  far  as  they 
could  ascertain  these  things  —  from  the  time 
he  rose  in  the  morning  until  he  went  to  bed, 


MRS.   CLEVELAND   IN  WHITE  HOUSE     173 

after  spending  the  better  part  of  each  night 
over  his  desk. 

It  is  almost  impossible,  even  now,  to  picture 
the  enthusiasm  exhibited  by  President  Cleve 
land's  supporters  who  had  caused  such  an  over 
turn  in  national  politics.  Delegations  of  all 
kinds,  from  all  sections  of  the  country,  waited 
upon  him  to  congratulate  him  and  to  congrat 
ulate  the  nation,  to  shake  his  hand  and  to 
carry  home  with  them  some  words  or  impres 
sions  which  could  be  repeated  to  their  neigh 
bors.  I  recall  one  delegation  of  charming 
women  from  the  South  who  walked  into  the 
office  during  the  busiest  of  all  mornings,  fully 
expecting  to  have  an  audience  with  Mr.  Cleve 
land,  and  perhaps  a  long  talk.  It  was  impos 
sible  at  that  time  for  the  President  to  see  these 
ladies;  they  went  away  greatly  disappointed 
and  highly  indignant,  the  leader  saying: 

"  For  years  we  have  been  praying  for  a 
President  of  the  Democratic  faith,  and  I  do 
not  see  why  he  will  not  see  us  to-day.  Why, 
he  is  our  own  President  and  we  must  see  him! 
Is  this  the  reception  we  are  to  expect  after  wait 
ing  for  so  many  years?  " 


174    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Of  course,  those  who  came  in  contact  with 
those  ladies  regretted  sincerely  that  their  wishes 
could  not  be  met,  but  at  that  time  the  Presi 
dent  was  so  deeply  occupied  that  he  could  not 
see  any  one  except  on  official  business.  The 
energetic  politicians  of  Washington  also  were 
coming  to  the  front  with  demands  that  they 
be  given  local  offices,  and  with  as  much  as 
surance  as  if  the  city  alone  were  responsible 
for  the  President's  election. 

Notwithstanding  such  constant  interruptions 
from  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  visitors,  who 
swept  in  an  unending  stream  to  the  White 
House,  yet  the  social  and  family  life  moved 
smoothly  from  the  very  first.  The  President's 
sister,  Miss  Rose  Elizabeth  Cleveland,  had  at 
once  proved  herself  perfectly  competent  to 
occupy  the  position  which  she  was  called 
upon  to  fill,  and  ten  days  after  her  brother's 
inauguration  she  held  a  reception  which  was 
very  largely  attended,  among  the  guests  being 
the  Hon.  James  G.  Elaine  and  Mr.  Walker 
Elaine.  Those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to 
be  invited  were  charmed  with  Miss  Cleveland, 
and  many  predicted  social  success  for  her  while 
in  the  White  House. 


MRS.   CLEVELAND   IN  WHITE  HOUSE     175 

The  President's  first  official  reception,  on 
March  17,  was  a  brilliant  affair,  and  was 
thought  hy  some  to  surpass  any  social  event 
given  by  preceding  Republican  Presidents. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  while  the  reception  was 
brilliant  it  was  not  extraordinarily  so;  and  I 
may  add  that  none  of  the  official  receptions 
before  or  since  Mr.  Cleveland's  time  have  ever 
equalled  the  diplomatic  receptions  given  by 
President  and  Mrs.  Hayes.  President  Cleve 
land,  by  the  way,  made  an  experiment,  in  his 
early  days  at  the  White  House,  of  adopting 
a  new  style  of  invitation  for  official  receptions, 
but  it  was  very  unpopular.  Senators  and 
Members  of  the  House  and  the  Judiciary  each 
received  an  engraved  invitation  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  season,  giving  on  a  single  card  the 
dates  of  all  the  receptions  that  were  to  follow, 
and  this  unusual  precedure  offended  many. 
As  soon  as  Mr.  Cleveland  realized  the  situa 
tion,  the  plan  was  discontinued  and  engraved 
cards  were  sent  as  usual  for  each  of  the  several 
entertainments.  State  dinners  were  held  as 
during  other  administrations,  but  here  again 
there  was  an  innovation,  the  President  giving 


176    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

each  guest  a  souvenir  consisting  of  a  ribbon 
about  three  feet  long,  and  three  inches  wide, 
on  one  end  of  which  was  stamped  a  picture  of 
the  White  House,  and  on  the  other  the  na 
tional  colors,  the  Coat-of-Arms  of  the  United 
States  appearing  in  gold.  To  this  rather  gor 
geous  ornamentation  was  added  the  name  of 
the  guest,  and  the  date  of  the  dinner,  in  gold 
letters.  This  large  and  unusual  souvenir  was 
intended  for  the  ladies  present,  while  for  the 
gentlemen  a  smaller  piece  of  satin  ribbon  was 
substituted,  on  which  were  stamped  only  the 
Coat-of-Arms,  the  name  of  the  guest,  and  the 
date  of  the  reception. 

From  the  very  first  I  felt  that  the  glitter  of 
official  life  was  distasteful  to  Mr.  Cleveland. 
He  was  a  man  who  believed  that  he  had  work 
to  accomplish,  and  that  work  was  a  serious 
matter  which  must  be  attended  to,  and  with 
which  nothing  must  interfere.  So  strongly 
pronounced  was  this  habit  of  industry,  and  so 
decided  was  his  mental  attitude  in  regard  to 
the  duties  he  owed  the  people  of  the  country 
as  well  as  himself,  that  on  one  occasion,  after 
having  left  the  White  House,  he  said  to  me : 


MRS.   CLEVELAND  IN  WHITE  HOUSE     177 

"  Crook,  in  looking  back  at  those  years  I  used 
to  feel  that  I  was  a  prisoner.  When  I  left  my 
breakfast  table  and  went  to  my  office,  it  used 
to  seem  that  a  yoke  was  placed  around  my  neck 
from  which  I  could  not  escape.  There  were 
many  pleasant  things  connected  with  the  office, 
but  they  did  not  compensate  for  the  annoy 
ances.  ...  I  am  glad  I  am  free." 

Of  course,  the  great  social  event  during  Mr. 
Cleveland's  first  administration  was  his  wed 
ding  to  Miss  Frances  Folsom,  which  occurred 
on  June  2,  1886,  and  in  this  the  President's 
dislike  of  show  and  extravagance  was  again 
manifested.  To  the  great  disappointment 
of  official  Washington,  and  perhaps  to  the 
disappointment  of  the  nation  at  large,  the 
marriage  was  solemnized  as  quietly  as  pos 
sible.  The  main  reason  for  the  private  na 
ture  of  this  event  lay  in  the  fact  that  the 
bride's  grandfather  had  died  not  long  before; 
but  even  if  there  had  been  no  such  condition 
I  am  confident  that  Mr.  Cleveland  would  have 
tried  his  best  to  avoid  any  publicity  in  con 
nection  with  it. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Miss  Folsom  was 


178    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

the  daughter  of  one  of  Mr.  Cleveland's  old  law 
partners,  who  had  died  some  years  previous, 
and  that  thereafter  she  had  been  under  Mr. 
Cleveland's  guardianship  as  a  ward.  At  the 
time  of  the  wedding,  the  President  was  a  ma 
ture  man;  but  when  she  stepped  from  the 
train  early  on  that  morning  of  June  2,  and  was 
met  by  the  President's  sister  and  driven  to  the 
White  House,  the  bride-to-be  was  only  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  in  the  full  bloom  of  youth, 
her  beauty  and  grace  and  carriage  enhanced 
and  made  almost  luminous  by  an  atmosphere 
of  spirituality  that  enveloped  her  as  truly  as 
she  lived  and  breathed. 

She  was  accompanied  to  Washington  by  her 
mother  and  by  her  cousin,  Benjamin  Folsom, 
and  as  soon  as  she  could  alight  from  the  train 
and  step  into  the  President's  carriage  where 
Miss  Rose  Elizabeth  Cleveland  was  waiting, 
Hawkins,  the  negro  coachman,  swished  his 
whip  and  they  whirled  away  at  high  speed, 
hoping  to  evade  or  elude  or  out-distance  the 
army  of  newspaper  men  who  had  come  from 
New  York  on  the  same  train.  When  the  car 
riage  reached  the  White  House,  those  of  the 


MRS.   CLEVELAND  IN  WHITE  HOUSE     179 

servants  who,  by  any  excuse,  could  be  present, 
were  waiting  around  the  doors  to  witness  the  ar 
rival  of  the  bride-to-be.  As  she  tripped  up  the 
steps  and  swept  through  the  great  entrance  like 
a  radiant  vision  of  young  springtime,  a  gasp  of 
surprise  and  delight  burst  from  those  kindly 
servitors,  and  from  that  instant  every  man  and 
woman  of  them  all  was  a  devoted  slave,  and 
remained  such  until  Mrs.  Cleveland  left  the 
White  House  for  the  last  time  —  eleven  years 
later,  on  March  4,  1897,  when  Mr.  McKinley 
took  up  his  residence  there. 

The  day  of  his  wedding  President  Cleveland 
spent  in  working  as  hard  as  he  ever  did  in  his 
life,  although  he  made  two  or  three  short  breaks 
in  it;  once  or  twice  to  chat  with  Miss  Folsom 
and  her  mother,  and  another  in  the  afternoon, 
when  he  went  for  a  drive.  During  the  after 
noon,  an  inquiry  came  from  the  Postmaster 
General  as  to  whether  the  President  could  pos 
sibly  find  time  to  sign  two  or  three  Postmas 
ter's  commissions  that  were  ready  to  be  sent 
out,  and  I  recollect  the  comical  expression  on 
Mr.  Cleveland's  face  as  he  lifted  it  above  the 
pile  of  papers  on  his  desk  and  exclaimed : 


180    MEMORIES  OP  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

'  Yes,  I  will  sign  —  but  tell  him  to  get  those 
documents  here  as  quick  as  the  good  Lord  will 
let  him." 

Shortly  after  this  occurrence  John  Philip 
Sousa  and  the  full  strength  of  the  Marine  Band 
were  waiting  in  the  place  assigned  to  them  in 
the  White  House.  Fifteen  seconds  before 
seven  o'clock  Sousa's  baton  was  poised  in  the 
air.  Exactly  as  the  hands  of  the  White  House 
clocks  marked  seven  the  baton  descended,  the 
band  struck  into  Mendelssohn's  '  Wedding 
March,"  and  everybody  knew  that  the  marriage 
ceremony  had  begun.  By  that  time  the  few 
guests  were  in  their  places,  and  included  in 
addition  to  the  Cabinet  Officers  and  their  wives 
-with  the  exception  of  the  Attorney  Gen 
eral,  Garland  —  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Lamont, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Sunderland  and  Mrs.  Sunder- 
land,  Mr.  W.  S.  Bissell,  of  Buffalo,  Miss  Cleve 
land,  and  the  bride's  mother  and  her  cousin, 
as  well  as  a  few  other  relatives,  not  the  least 
important  of  whom  was  the  Rev.  William 
N.  Cleveland. 

As  the  last  notes  of  the  "  Wedding  March  " 
floated  through  the  corridor,  the  President 


MRS.  CLEVELAND  IN  WHITE  HOUSE    181 

came  slowly  down  the  staircase  with  the  bride 
leaning  on  his  arm,  and  the  guests  by  common 
consent  fell  back  toward  the  south  end  of  the 
Blue  Room.  It  was  there,  underneath  the 
crystal  chandelier  pouring  a  flood  of  radiance 
on  the  scene,  and  surrounded  by  a  wealth  of 
flowers  and  plants  such  as  never  before  had 
been  seen  in  the  White  House,  that  the  cere 
mony  was  performed.  At  its  conclusion  Mrs. 
Folsom,  showing  traces  of  deep  emotion,  was 
the  first  to  tender  her  congratulations  to  the 
newly  married  pair.  She  was  followed  by  Miss 
Cleveland,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  the 
other  relatives  and  friends  in  turn.  When  the 
felicitations  had  been  concluded,  the  President 
and  his  bride  led  the  way  into  the  stately  East 
Room,  the  adornments  of  which  were  in  keep 
ing  with  its  majestic  proportions.  Thence, 
after  a  brief  period  of  promenading  and  con 
versation,  the  company  proceeded  to  the  family 
dining-room  of  the  Mansion,  where  the  wed 
ding  supper  was  served. 

It  was  about  half-past  eight  o'clock  when  the 
President  and  his  bride  left  the  White  House 
by  a  private  exit  from  the  Blue  Room  to  the 


182    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

South  Grounds,  entered  a  carriage  and  were 
driven  to  the  railway  station,  where  they  took 
a  special  train  for  Deer  Park,  Maryland,  some 
two  hundred  miles  distant  from  Washington, 
and  there  spent  their  brief  honeymoon. 

It  may  interest  my  younger  readers  of  to-day 
to  know  that  the  bride's  dress  was  of  corded 
satin,  heavy  enough  to  stand  upright  on  the 
floor  without  support,  even  if  no  one  were 
wearing  it.  The  drapery  of  India  silk  served 
the  double  purpose  of  softening  the  gloss  of  the 
heavy  material  and  rounding  the  outlines  of  the 
bride's  tall  figure,  without  detracting  at  all 
from  her  grace  and  shapeliness.  A  band  of 
orange  blossoms  outlined  a  delicate  drapery, 
and  the  bosom  was  crossed  by  soft  filmy  scarfs 
which  terminated  beneath  a  heavy  fold  of  satin 
below  the  waist.  Orange  blossoms  and  bows, 
and  leaves  so  small  as  to  make  a  bare  outline, 
bordered  the  drapery  of  the  skirt.  But  the 
marvel  of  the  whole  costume  was  the  train  of 
that  wedding  gown,  and  the  still  greater  mar 
vel  was  the  way  in  which  it  was  managed  by 
the  bride  in  a  small,  well-filled  room --for  it 
was  nearly  as  long  as  the  room  itself,  measuring 


MRS.   CLEVELAND   IN  WHITE  HOUSE     183 

within  a  few  inches  of  fifteen  feet.  Through 
the  bride's  deft  management  it  lay  in  a  glisten 
ing  coil  close  to  her  little  shoes,  and  yet  it  would 
have  reached  easily  from  the  spot  where  the 
vows  were  pledged  across  the  room  and  into 
the  corridor  beyond,  through  which  the  bridal 
party  had  come.  Her  gloves  reached  only  to 
the  elbow,  and  the  silk  tulle  veil  was  almost 
large  enough  to  envelop  her. 

Of  course,  a  great  number  of  presents  had 
been  received,  but  only  one  was  shown;  and 
that  was  the  President's  gift,  a  diamond  neck 
lace  of  truly  regal  magnificence. 

When  the  honeymoon  at  Deer  Park  had  been 
ended  and  the  President  had  returned  to  the 
White  House,  his  beautiful  young  bride  at  once 
took  up  her  new  and  trying  duties  with  an  ease, 
an  efficiency,  and  graciousness  that  captivated 
all  who  came  in  contact  with  the  Executive 
Mansion,  whether  personal  guests,  or  those  in 
vited  to  official  affairs. 

I  am  an  old  man  now  and  I  have  seen  many 
women  of  various  types  through  all  the  long 
years  of  my  service  in  the  White  House,  but 
neither  there  nor  elsewhere  have  I  seen  any  one 


184    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

possessing  the  same  kind  of  downright  loveli 
ness  which  was  as  much  a  part  of  Mrs.  Cleve 
land  as  was  her  voice,  or  her  marvelous  eyes, 
or  her  warm  smile  of  welcome  that  instantly 
captivated  every  one  who  came  in  contact  with 
her.  It  has  been  my  purpose,  in  preparing 
these  present  recollections  of  family  life  in  the 
White  House  during  the  past  forty-five  years, 
to  be  careful  not  to  over-state  this  thing,  or 
to  make  extravagant  remarks  about  that  thing, 
and  I  am  well  within  the  bounds  of  conserva 
tism  when  I  repeat  that  Mrs.  Grover  Cleve 
land  was  the  most  charming  woman  and  the 
most  lovely  character  that  I  have  ever  known 
in  the  course  of  my  life.  When  one  remem 
bers  that  in  addition  to  this  she  was  physically 
beautiful,  one  can  easily  understand  her  ex 
traordinary  influence  upon  all  who  saw  her. 

Hardly  had  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cleveland  re 
turned  from  their  honeymoon  when  they  were 
beset  by  all  sorts  of  people.  Photographers 
were  struggling  and  scheming  for  the  chance 
to  make  a  picture  of  the  bride.  Requests 
rained  in  from  piano  makers  asking  permission 
to  place  a  piano  in  the  White  House  for  the  use 


MRS.  CLEVELAND  IN  WHITE  HOUSE     185 

of  the  bride,  declaring  that  no  charge  would  be 
made,  and  that  they  wanted  to  send  a  piano 
there  "  simply  for  the  honor  "  of  the  thing. 
One  piano  maker  in  New  York  insisted  that 
Mrs.  Cleveland  accept  his  instrument  on  the 
score  of  old  friendship.  All  these  outside  de 
tails  took  up  a  great  deal  of  the  President's 
time,  for  the  reason  that  he  would  not  allow 
them  or  anything  else  to  interfere  with  his  ofr 
ficial  work.  Consequently,  when  he  first  re 
turned  from  Deer  Park,  he  had  almost  no 
leisure  whatever.  Nevertheless,  he  seemed  to 
be  as  happy  as  mortal  man  could  be.  In  those 
days,  as  I  saw  him  plunge  through  his  enor 
mous  tasks,  I  used  to  smile  to  myself  -  -  for  he 
seemed  as  happy  as  a  man  in  the  back  country 
districts  who  had  suddenly  "  got  religion,"  and 
got  it  thoroughly. 

Through  all  the  years  of  both  administra 
tions  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cleveland,  notwithstanding 
their  disparity  in  age,  were  a  very  affectionate 
couple.  While  she  naturally  deferred  to  her 
husband's  judgment  in  many  matters,  Mrs. 
Cleveland  was  possessed  of  a  keen  mind  and 
could  see  straight  through  things  which  would 


186    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

baffle  many  women.  I  remember  that  on  one 
occasion  the  President  sent  for  me  to  come  to 
his  office,  at  about  nine  one  morning,  and  said 
he  wanted  me  as  a  notary  to  take  his  acknowl 
edgment  and  Mrs.  Cleveland's  acknowledg 
ment  to  a  deed.  Mrs.  Cleveland  was  present 
at  the  time,  but  before  she  signed  the  paper  the 
President  walked  off  to  the  other  side  of  the 
room  in  order  that  I  might  privately  question 
her  as  to  her  willingness  to  sign  the  paper. 
Mrs.  Cleveland  told  me  that  she  was  signing  it 
without  any  mental  reservation,  whereupon 
the  President  turned  around  and  remarked: 

"  I  think  that  such  a  requirement  of  the  law 
is  silly  -  - 1  mean  the  clause  that  requires  a  no 
tary  privately  to  examine  a  woman  before  she 
signs  a  deed  like  this." 

After  a  moment's  hesitation  the  President 
added : 

"  Still,  I  suppose  the  requirement  was 
caused  by  reason  of  impositions  practiced  upon 
some  poor  women,  who  felt  compelled  to  sign 
papers  under  their  husbands'  insistence." 

At  this  Mrs.  Cleveland  laid  down  her  pen 
and  looked  up,  laughing  heartily  at  the  idea 


MRS.   CLEVELAND   IN  WHITE   HOUSE     187 

that  her  husband  would  ever  try  to  impose  upon 
her  in  any  way.  The  next  day  but  one  she  sent 
for  me  to  see  her,  and  when  I  came  she  said: 

"  Colonel,  I  want  to  speak  to  you  about  some 
packages  from  Italy  that  I  am  expecting ;  but 
don't  breathe  a  word  about  them  to  anybody, 
for  it  is  a  surprise  that  I  have  planned  for  the 
President ;  and  if  he  sees  the  box  he  would  be 
sure  to  ask  what  was  in  it." 

Of  course,  I  sq,w  that  the  precious  gifts  she 
had  arranged  for  with  such  loving  care,  were 
smuggled  into  the  White  House  and  into  her 
own  hands,  with  the  final  result  of  surprising 
and  pleasing  her  husband  as  she  had  hoped 
to  do. 

It  would  not  be  hard  for  me  to  relate  scores 
of  instances  where  Mr.  Cleveland  showed  his 
tender  care  for  her  and  where  she  showed  like 
feeling  for  him,  through  all  the  long  years  of 
his  two  administrations.  And  if  ever  a  man  is 
permitted  to  use  the  word  "  damnable  "  I  think 
it  may  be  permitted  here  and  now  in  criticising 
as  such  the  outrageous  lies  that  were  spread 
abroad  by  political  and  other  enemies  of  Mr. 
Cleveland,  in  regard  to  his  domestic  life.  The 


188    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

least  things  were  seized  upon  as  an  excuse  for 
trying  to  make  trouble,  as  the  months  and 
years  went  by.  I  have  mentioned  already  the 
fact  that  Mr.  Cleveland  worked  harder,  and 
kept  longer  hours  than  any  other  President  we 
have  ever  had.  But  every  once  in  a  while  he 
became  so  completely  fagged  out  that  he  sim 
ply  had  to  leave  his  office  and  get  out  of  doors. 
And  many  an  afternoon,  during  his  two  terms, 
he  would  quietly  slip  through  the  White 
House,  enter  a  buggy  waiting  for  him  at  the 
rear,  and  drive  over  into  Maryland  for  a  few 
hours'  squirrel  shooting.  So  careful  was  he  as 
to  telling  the  truth  that  often  he  never  informed 
his  secretary  of  such  an  outing.  Consequently, 
when  visitors  came  to  the  White  House  to  see 
him,  they  would  be  told  that  the  President  was 
not  in.  Those  who  pressed  for  further  par 
ticulars  would  be  told  that  he  had  gone  off 
somewhere  for  the  afternoon,  and  would  not 
be  back  until  night  —  perhaps  not  until  the 
next  morning. 

Thus  it  was  that  enemies  were  enabled  to 
seize  upon  such  situations  for  an  excuse  to  hint 
that  President  Cleveland  indulged  in  periodical 


MRS.  CLEVELAND  IN  WHITE  HOUSE     189 

dissipation.  These  stories  were  spread  abroad 
with  such  cunning  and  devilish  ingenuity  that 
the  persons  responsible  for  them  could  not  be 
called  to  account;  and  as  it  was  practically 
impossible,  under  the  circumstances,  for  any 
one  in  authority  to  recognize  them  by  so  much 
as  a  flat  denial,  the  country  at  large  was  left 
to  conjecture  as  to  how  much  truth  there  was  in 
them.  Of  course  this  was  not  unknown  to  those 
in  the  White  House,  and  could  not  but  have 
been  the  cause  of  anguish.  I  dislike,  exceed 
ingly,  to  touch  upon  such  situations;  but 
scarcely  any  man  in  high  public  office  seems 
to  be  able  to  escape  from  corresponding  at 
tacks,  and  this  fact  should  be  borne  in  mind 
by  all  of  us  when  we  read  irresponsible  and 
sensational  publications. 

While  referring  to  this  unpleasant  phase 
of  high  public  career  in  the  United  States,  I 
may  mention  that  not  only  are  men  in  office 
subject  to  such  annoyance,  but  oftentimes  their 
wives  as  well.  And  this  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
case  of  Mrs.  Cleveland  by  several  instances 
that  were  so  silly  as  to  be  beyond  the  ground 
of  serious  feeling.  When  the  President's 


190    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

first  daughter  was  born,  little  Ruth  Cleveland, 
it  was  a  time  of  great  interest  for  the  whole 
country ;  and  when  she  was  brought  to  Wash 
ington  every  woman  in  the  vicinity  felt  de 
sirous,  quite  naturally,  of  seeing  the  dear  little 
mite  of  humanity.  Gifts  of  all  kinds  were 
prepared,  not  merely  by  friends,  but  by  stran 
gers  from  near  and  far;  for  while  the  Presi 
dent  at  that  time  might  not  have  been  the  most 
popular  man  in  the  country,  there  was  no 
doubt  whatever  that  his  charming  wife  was  the 
most  popular  woman. 

Having  a  natural  desire  to  see  her  babe  live 
and  thrive,  Mrs.  Cleveland  wished  her  to  spend 
a  portion  of  each  sunny  day  outdoors,  and  the 
nurse  was  directed  to  take  the  little  one  in  a 
carriage  to  the  grounds  on  the  south  side  of 
the  White  House  so  her  lungs  could  be  filled 
with  God's  fresh  air  —  to  which  she  was  en 
titled.  If  recollection  serves  me,  the  nurse 
and  the  baby-carriage,  not  to  mention  the 
baby,  had  not  been  out  there,  the  first  time,  for 
more  than  six  minutes  when  some  of  the  visi 
tors  strolling  around  spied  them,  made  a  rush 
for  them,  and  started  in  to  pet  the  baby  and  kiss 


MRS.   CLEVELAND  IN  WHITE  HOUSE    191 

her.  The  first  few  who  did  so  attracted  many 
more;  and  from  that  day  it  was  impossible 
for  little  Ruth  to  be  taken  outdoors  without 
having  a  group  of  strange  women  swoop  down 
upon  her  from  all  points  of  the  compass.  It 
did  n't  make  any  difference  if  the  hour  for  her 
outing  was  changed;  the  women  would  be 
there,  waiting  for  the  appearance  of  the  nurse 
and  the  baby-carriage.  And  mindful  of  all 
the  dangers  attendant  upon  such  feminine  stu 
pidity,  Mrs.  Cleveland  took  the  only  course 
left  open  to  her  —  and  the  South  Grounds  of 
the  White  House  were  closed  to  strangers. 

Now,  mark  you,  what  happened.  It  seems 
almost  too  ridiculous  for  belief,  but  it  is  true. 
As  soon  as  the  great  public,  washed,  unwashed, 
stranger  to  Washington  and  native  alike, 
learned  that  they  could  no  longer  descend  upon 
that  poor,  helpless  babe,  and  pat  its  cheeks, 
and  pinch  its  little  ears,  and  cover  it  with  kisses, 
and  generally  maul  it  around  -  -  this  same  in 
telligent  public  jumped  at  the  conclusion  that 
there  must  be  some  reason,  some  terrible, 
mysterious  reason  why  it  could  not  continue. 
What  could  it  be?  Why  was  the  child  sud- 


192    MEMORIES  OF  THE   WHITE  HOUSE 

denly  taken  away  from  them?  Why  was 
she  kept  within  the  South  Grounds  to  which 
the  public  was  suddenly  denied  admission? 
There  could  be  only  one  answer  for  those  mis 
guided  women;  and  they  leaped  to  the  con 
clusion  that  Ruth  Cleveland  was  a  deaf  mute. 
If  this  were  not  enough,  they  also  hinted  that 
her  ears  were  malformed,  and  that  there  were 
other  reasons  for  her  seclusion.  And  incred 
ible  as  it  may  seem,  insinuations  of  such  na 
ture  were  not  lacking  in  a  section  of  the 
newspaper  press  which  was  making  war  on 
the  President  and  his  political  programme! 

The  interest  aroused  by  the  birth  of  a  child 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cleveland  showed  the  af 
fectionate  regard  in  which  both  were  held  by 
the  great  majority  of  thinking  people  in  the 
country.  One  day  the  President  received  from 
an  unknown  admirer  a  poem  which  was  beau 
tifully  printed  upon  a  square  of  pink  satin, 
and  as  it  may  be  of  interest,  so  many  years 
later,  I  will  reproduce  it  here; 


MRS.   CLEVELAND   IN   WHITE   HOUSE     193 

ON   THE   BIRTH    OF   A    GIRL   BABY 

TO 
PRESIDENT    CLEVELAND 

In  other  lands,  when  unto  ruler  great 

A  child  is  born,  the  roar  of  cannons  rise 
And  bells  ring  out  in  gladness  to  the  skies, 
And  loyal  hearts  with  joy  exhilarate. 

But  here,  with  us,  in  this  our  grand  estate, 

No  rousing  peal  from  mouth  of  cannon  flies, 
No  song  of  bells  triumphing  as  it  hies, 
Nor  hymn  of  man  the  birth  will  celebrate. 

And  yet,  to-day,  with  our  democracy, 
A  nation's  heart  pulses  in  sympathy; 
A  wordless  wish,  a  silent,  soul-felt  prayer 

Ascends  on  high,  afar  o'er  earthly  air, 

To  Him,  the  Father  ever  kind  and  mild, 
That  he  may  guard  the  mother  and  the  child ! 

DEMOCRAT. 

* 

I  never  knew  who  wrote  this  verse  and  sent  it 
to  the  President,  and  I  doubt  whether  he  ever 
knew,  either.  But  that  was  only  one  of  many 
presents  that  were  sent  to  Mr.  Cleveland  while 
he  occupied  the  White  House.  Another  trib 
ute  came  to  him  later  on  from  a  tailor  in 
Pottsville,  Penn.  I  opened  the  box  containing 
this  tribute,  and  found  it  to  be  a  full-dress 


194    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

suit  —  trousers,  low-cut  waistcoat,  and  "  swal 
low-tail  "  coat  —  evidently  intended  to  fit  Mr. 
Cleveland,  and  made  up  of  hundreds  of 
pieces  of  cloth  of  all  kinds  and  colors  and 
shades;  long  strips  and  short;  patches,  three- 
cornered  bits,  round  ones,  oblong,  square,  dia 
mond-shaped --in  fact  that  suit  of  clothes 
would  have  made  half  a  dozen  coats  for  a 
modern  Joseph ;  and,  as  a  whole,  it  was  one  of 
the  most  extraordinary  products  of  the  art 
sartorial  that  could  be  conceived  by  mortal 
mind.  What  became  of  it  eventually  I  do  not 
remember,  but  my  strong  impression  is  that 
the  President  of  the  United  States  never  wore 
it  in  public. 

Not  long  after  Mrs.  Cleveland  first  came  to 
the  White  House,  she  instituted  a  series  of 
rather  informal  receptions,  held  on  Saturday 
afternoons,  to  which  the  ladies  in  Washington 
were  invited.  I  am  sure  that  those  who  at 
tended,  and  thus  had  opportunity  for  meet 
ing  their  lovely  young  hostess,  have  not 
forgotten  these  semi-public  affairs.  But  only 
a  few  had  been  held  when  one  of  those  in 
official  position  in  Washington,  very  mindful 


'MRS.   CLEVELAND  IN  WHITE  HOUSE     195 

of  the  dignity  of  life  and  the  importance  of  the 
President's  wife,  approached  Mrs.  Cleveland, 
and  urged  that  the  Saturday  afternoons  be 
given  up. 

"  For  what  reason?  "  asked  the  President's 
wife. 

"  Well,  you  see,"  said  the  official,  "  about 
half  of  all  the  women  who  came  Saturday  after 
noon  are  clerks  from  the  department  stores 
and  others  —  a  great  rabble  of  shop-girls.  And 
of  course  a  White  House  afternoon  is  not  in 
tended  for  them." 

"  Indeed!  "  remarked  Mrs.  Cleveland,  some 
what  surprised.  "  And  if  I  should  hold  the 
little  receptions  some  afternoon  other  than 
Saturday,  they  could  n't  attend,  because  they 
have  to  work  all  the  other  afternoons.  Is 
that  it?" 

"Certainly,"  the  official  replied,  delighted 
to  think  how  easily  he  had  accomplished  his 
purpose.  "  That 's  it  exactly." 

He  was  somewhat  surprised  not  long  after 
ward  to  learn  that  Mrs.  Cleveland  had  given 
orders  that  nothing  should  interfere  with  her 
Saturday  afternoon  receptions,  so  long  as  there 


196    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

were  any  store  clerks,  or  other  self-supporting 
women  and  girls,  who  wished  to  come  to  the 
White  House  and  meet  her  on  that  day  of  the 
week.  She  knew  intuitively  what  a  treat  it 
was  to  those  women  and  girls. 

It  was  this  quality  of  sympathy  that  made 
Mrs.  Cleveland's  life  in  the  White  House  so 
rich  a  memory.  I  never  knew  her  to  make  a 
mistake  of  social  nature  but  once;  and  then  it 
was  shared  by  so  many  others  that  I  may  be 
pardoned  for  repeating  it  in  public  print.  I 
know  the  little  story  is  true,  for  I  was  present 
at  the  time,  and  heard  it  all.  At  one  of  the 
President's  formal  receptions  a  man  named 
Decker  appeared,  and  as  he  drew  near  the 
receiving  line  he  told  Colonel  Wilson  in  con 
fidence  that  his  name  was  such  an  easy  one  it 
could  not  be  mistaken  or  mispronounced. 
Whereupon  Colonel  Wilson  presented  him. 

'  Happy  to  meet  you,  Mr.  Cracker,"  said 
the  President. 

:'  Happy  to  meet  you,  Mr.  Baker,"  said 
Mrs.  Cleveland. 

'  Mr.  Sacker,"  murmured  Miss  Bayard 
doubtfully. 


MRS.   CLEVELAND  IN  WHITE  HOUSE     197 

'  Happy  to  meet  you,  Mr.  Black,"  Mrs. 
Whitney  remarked  with  calm  confidence. 

A  few  minutes  later  Mr.  Decker  was  said  to 
be  looking  at  one  of  his  visiting-cards  to  see 
what  his  name  really  was. 

I  shall  not  forget  the  morning  of  March  4, 
1889,  when  President  Cleveland  turned  over 
the  White  House  to  his  successor,  General 
Harrison.  One  of  the  best  known  employees 
in  the  building  was  old  Jerry  Smith,  who  had 
been  Grant's  footman,  who  had  remained  in 
the  White  House  ever  since,  and  still  was  one 
of  the  most  magnificent  specimens  of  man 
hood  the  colored  race  has  produced.  In  ad 
dition  to  his  splendid  appearance,  he  had  the 
manner  of  a  courtier,  and  a  strong  person 
ality  that  could  not  be  overlooked  by  any  one, 
high  or  low.  Early  in  the  morning  just  re 
ferred  to  I  went  up  to  the  living-rooms  of  the 
President's  family  to  say  good-bye  to  Mrs. 
Cleveland;  and  as  I  approached  she  was  com 
ing  out  of  her  door  into  the  corridor,  where 
stood  old  Jerry,  erect  as  a  grenadier,  holding 
her  handbag  and  waiting  to  escort  her  to  her 
carriage.  As  I  drew  near,  I  heard  her  say: 


198    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

'  Now,  Jerry,  I  want  you  to  take  good  care 
of  all  the  furniture  and  ornaments  in  the  house, 
and  not  let  any  of  them  get  lost  or  broken, 
for  I  want  to  find  everything  just  as  it  is  now, 
when  we  come  back  again." 

'  Excuse  meh,  Mis'  Cleveland,"  Jerry  re 
sponded,  with  a  slight  gasp  of  astonishment, 
"  but  jus'  when  does  you-all  expec'  to  come 
back,  please,  —  so  I  can  have  everything 
ready,  I  mean?  " 

'  We  are  coming  back  just  four  years  from 
to-day,"  she  replied,  smiling  confidently.  And 
her  prophecy  was  fulfilled. 

It  was  four  years  from  that  morning - 
on  March  4,  1893  —  that  I  received  a  request 
from  Colonel  Lamont  to  go  to  the  Arlington 
Hotel,  and  take  charge  of  Mr.  Cleveland's 
family,  and  bring  them  to  the  White  House. 
At  the  appointed  time  I  had  a  carriage  at  the 
Arlington,  and  into  it  entered  Mrs.  Cleve 
land,  more  charming  than  ever,  baby  Ruth, 
and  the  nurse.  Neither  the  baby  nor  Mrs. 
Cleveland  seemed  at  all  excited,  but  the  nurse 
was  less  composed,  and  while  stepping  into 
the  carriage  with  Ruth  in  her  arms,  she  missed 


MRS.   CLEVELAND   IN  WHITE  HOUSE     199 

her  footing  and  fell  forward  rather  heavily. 
Fortunately  I  was  where  I  could  pick  the  wo 
man  up,  unhurt,  and  as  Ruth  had  bounced 
from  her  arms  and  had  landed  on  one  of  the 
seats,  she,  too,  wras  none  the  worse  for  the 
adventure. 

Colonel  Lamont  and  his  two  children,  Bessie 
and  Julia,  also  entered  the  carriage,  and  all 
were  driven  to  the  White  House.  A  rope  had 
been  thrown  across  one  of  the  streets  to  keep 
back  the  crowd,  but  it  was  soon  taken  down 
to  allow  the  distinguished  party  to  pass,  and 
they  arrived  at  the  Executive  Mansion  some 
fifteen  minutes  before  noon.  At  Mrs.  Cleve 
land's  request  the  baby  was  taken  upstairs  at 
once,  and  she  herself  made  ready  to  go  to 
the  Capitol  to  see  her  husband's  second  inau 
guration.  Shortly  thereafter  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Cleveland  resumed  their  family  life  in  the 
White  House,  quite  as  if  it  had  not  been  inter 
rupted  for  four  years. 

One  of  the  events  that  occurred  during  the 
second  Cleveland  administration  was  the  cele 
bration  of  old  Jerry  Smith's  silver  wedding. 
When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cleveland  came  back  to 


£00    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE   HOUSE 

the  White  House,  Jerry  did  not  seem  at  all 
surprised.  He  seemed  to  think  their  return 
was  predestined  by  some  power  higher  than 
we  mortals,  and  he  had  fully  expected  them 
to  come  back  ever  since  Mrs.  Cleveland  made 
her  prophetic  remark.  Jerry  was  supersti 
tious  in  many  things,  but  in  placing  Mrs. 
Cleveland  far  above  the  average  of  human 
ity  he  showed  not  superstition  but  common 
sense.  Yet  even  her  presence  in  the  Execu 
tive  Mansion  could  not  quiet  all  of  his  qualms 
about  spirits  of  evil  and  like  dangers  that  he 
was  sure  lurked  in  dark  corners,  and  espe 
cially  on  the  attic  floor  of  the  White  House 
which,  until  a  fevr  years  ago,  had  always  been 
used  as  an  enorr.ious  wine-closet.  Perhaps 
the  presence  of  real  spirits  —  in  liquid  form  - 
in  that  dark,  musty,  dusty  old  attic  gave  rise 
to  his  belief  that  there  e'xisted  also  intangible 
spirits  of  quite  a  different  kind;  for  nothing 
under  heaven  would  persuade  the  old  man  in 
his  later  years,  to  go  to  the  attic  floor,  espe 
cially  after  dark. 

He  believed  in  ghosts  as  firmly  as  he  believed 
in  living  persons ;  one  was  as  real  to  him  as  the 


MRS.  CLEVELAND  IN  WHITE  HOUSE    201 

other.  And  he  was  always  seeing  or  hearing 
the  ghosts  of  former  deceased  Presidents  hov 
ering  around  in  out-of-the-way  corners,  espe 
cially  in  deep  shadows  at  sundown  or  later; 
and  these,  he  asserted,  felt  they  had  a  right  to 
come  around  and  "  ha'nt  "  their  former  sur 
roundings.  At  any  rate  he  never  questioned 
their  right,  being  perfectly  willing  to  let  them 
do  whatever  they  wished,  if  they  'd  only  be  so 
good  as  to  let  him  alone. 

For  many,  many  years  this  fine  old  negro 
had  raised  and  lowered  the  White  House 
flag  —  at  sunrise  and  sundown  —  regarding 
the  ceremony  as  being  particularly  important, 
and  in  a  way  symbolical  of  his  own  religious 
and  patriotic  feelings,  which  were  very  closely 
merged. 

One  evening,  when  he  lowered  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  he  disappeared  from  the  house,  quite 
unexpectedly;  and  when  he  was  gone,  we  all 
remembered  that  this  was  the  evening  of  his 
Silver  Wedding!  At  the  time  he  lived  in  his 
little  home  on  Church  Street,  between  Six 
teenth  and  Seventeenth  streets  —  the  same  lit 
tle  home  that  he  had  bought  many  years  pre- 


202    MEMORIES   OF  THE   WHITE   HOUSE 

vious  at  the  urging  of  Mrs.  Grant,  who  was  so 
anxious  to  have  all  of  her  servants  acquire 
homes  while  Washington  real  estate  was  low- 
priced.  And  to  that  home,  that,  evening, 
wended  a  procession  of  dignitaries  such  as 
never  before  had  graced  its  precincts.  Every 
one  who  came  to  the  White  House  during 
Jerry's  service  there  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  knew  the  old  man,  and  thoroughly 
liked  him.  So  great  was  the  general  regard 
that  not  merely  clerks  and  assistant  secretaries 
went  to  his  silver  wedding,  but  one  carriage 
after  another  drove  up  to  his  door,  containing 
Cabinet  Officers  and  members  of  the  Diplo 
matic  Corps.  These  officials  did  not  enter  his 
home,  as  a  rule,  but  sent  in  to  him  and  his  aged 
wife  some  personal  gift  appropriate  to  the  oc 
casion.  You  may  be  sure  that  Mrs.  Cleve 
land  remembered  the  faithful  old  servitor. 

When  I  entered  the  little  parlor  —  spick 
and  span  as  could  be  —  Jerry  came  forward  to 
greet  me  and  present  to  me  his  wife,  with  the 
air  of  Lord  Chesterfield  receiving  an  honored 
guest.  Jerry  was  arrayed  not  exactly  in  fine 
linen  alone,  but  in  his  most  magnificent  gar- 


MRS.  CLEVELAND   IN   WHITE  HOUSE     203 

ments,  and  Mrs.  Smith  was  by  his  side,  as 
happy  and  proud  as  he,  although  she  was  very 
quietly  dressed.  After  the  presentation  to  her, 
Jerry  drew  me  aside,  and  said  confidentially: 

"  Kuhnel,  the  greates'  satisfaction  I  has  is 
the  way  all  theseyeh  other  niggehs  in  th'  neigh- 
bo 'hood  feel  about  thisyeh  silvah  weddin'.  They 
was  that  envious  they  could  n't  rest  when 
they  heahd  about  it,  fust  off;  an'  now,  since 
th'  representatives  of  th'  mightiest  powehs  of 
all  Christendom  Ve  been  drivin'  down  yeah 
with  fine  bosses,  and  coachmen  an'  footmen, 
to  do  me  honah  as  one  of  th'  President's  Of- 
fishul  Fambly,  theseyeh  niggehs  's  ready  to 
cut  meh  heaht  out,  an'  kill  me  deddeh  'n  a  dooh- 
nail,  they  's  that  jealous,  Suh." 

I  think  Jerry  enjoyed  this  triumph  as  much 
as  he  enjoyed  the  heap  of  silver  dollars  piled 
up  on  the  center-table  in  his  little  parlor,  and 
the  heap  kept  increasing  in  size  and  value  as 
long  as  the  guests  continued  to  arrive. 

The  family  life  of  the  second  Cleveland  ad 
ministration  was  like  the  first  in  most  ways  ex 
cepting  that  there  was  more  than  one  baby  to 
make  glad  the  heart  of  the  President  and  his 


204    MEMORIES  OF  THE^  WHITE   HOUSE 

wife.  I  shall  never  forget  the  times  I  have 
seen  Mrs.  Cleveland  down  on  the  floor  with 
her  two  little  children  and  their  dollies, 
playing  as  light-heartedly  as  could  be,  and 
looking  up  radiant,  smiling,  beautiful,  as  I 
entered  in  response  to  her  summons.  Even 
with  her  added  cares  of  motherhood,  Mrs. 
Cleveland  did  not  attempt  to  relinquish  her 
incessant  duties  as  wife  of  the  President;  and 
when  the  time  came  for  her  to  leave  the  White 
House  a  second  time,  I  think  she  was  not  al 
together  sorry.  On  that  morning,  March  4, 
1897,  as  she  was  going  away,  she  thanked  me 
for  the  small  services  I  had  rendered  during 
eight  years,  and  taking  a  bouquet  of  beautiful 
violets  from  her  corsage,  she  placed  it  in  my 
hands,  with  her  sweet,  lovely  smile.  The  vio 
lets  are  withered  and  white  now,  but  they  are 
still  before  me,  in  their  envelope,  where  they 
have  rested  securely  ever  since  they  began  to 
fade. 


VII 

THE    WHITE    HOUSE    FAMILY    OF 
PRESIDENT    HARRISON 

THE  first  Christmas  tree  that  ever  lifted  up  its 
gift-laden  green  in  the  White  House  was 
placed  there  during  the  administration  of  Pres 
ident  Harrison  —  and  in  my  memories  of  many 
years'  service  within  the  walls  of  the  Executive 
Mansion,  this  stands  out  as  one  of  the  pleas- 
antest.  There  had  been  plenty  of  young 
people  there  during  previous  administrations 
from  Lincoln's  down  through  Johnson's, 
Grant's,  Hayes's,  Garfield's,  Arthur's,  Cleve 
land's  —  and  plenty  of  excuse  for  a  Christ 
mas  tree  as  each  December  came  around  with 
its  season  of  joyousness  and  generosity  of 
spirit;  yet,  for  some  reason  that  I  have  never 
been  able  to  understand,  one  Christmas  after 
another  came  and  went,  with  every  remem 
brance  and  observance  of  the  day  excepting 

205 


206    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

that  which  to  most  young  people  is  the  crown 
ing  feature;  a  beautiful,  tall,  graceful  tree, 
laden  with  gifts  and  ornaments,  shimmering 
with  candles,  perhaps,  or  bowing  and  swaying 
under  the  weight  of  numberless  pretty  devices 
and  glittering  baubles. 

Cold  though  he  appeared  to  most  people, 
and  indifferent,  President  Harrison  neverthe 
less  was  warm-hearted  and  sympathetic  to 
those  who  knew  him  well.  He  had  a  merry 
side  to  his  nature,  and  with  it  the  love  of  child 
hood  that  is  almost  always  its  accompaniment. 
Mrs.  Harrison,  too,  was  warm-hearted,  loving 
to  give  others  happiness,  devoted  to  her  chil 
dren,  and  almost  idolizing  her  grandchildren 
-  as  is  not  uncommon  with  grandmothers, 
whether  they  live  in  the  White  House,  or  in 
the  humblest  cottage.  Therefore  it  was  almost 
inevitable,  under  the  circumstances,  that  the 
first  Christmas  season  under  General  Harri 
son's  presidency  should  see  a  tree  set  up  for 
the  delight  and  delectation  of  the  children  in 
whom  so  much  of  his  thought  was  centered. 

In  addition  to  the  President  and  Mrs.  Harri 
son,  there  were  in  the  White  House  at  the  time 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    207 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Russell  B.  Harrison  and  their 
little  daughter;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Robert 
McKee  and  their  two  children,  Benjamin  Har 
rison  McKee  (better  known  to  the  public  as 
"  Baby  McKee  "  ) ,  aged  about  two  years,  and 
his  sister  Mary,  who  was  about  a  year  younger. 
Mrs.  Harrison's  niece,  Mrs.  Mary  Scott  Dim- 
mick,  also  was  there,  if  memory  serves;  and 
Mrs.  Harrison's  father,  the  Reverend  Doc 
tor  Scott,  then  an  aged  man.  So  there  were 
plenty  of  all  sizes  and  years  to  make  the  most 
of  the  Christmas  season,  and  they  did  so 
right  royally. 

For  days  before  the  one  great  day,  the  chil 
dren  grew  more  and  more  excited  as  to  coming 
events,  telling  each  other  what  they  hoped 
Santa  Glaus  would  bring  them,  running  in  and 
out  with  important,  confidential  messages  and 
questions  to  parents,  grandparents,  uncles, 
and  aunts,  and  generally  infusing  a  spirit  that 
was  infectious  to  all  who  breathed  its  atmos 
phere.  Then,  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day 
before  Christmas,  they  suddenly  found  the 
doors  closed  and  locked  which  led  into  the 
great  circular  library.  They  hovered  around, 


208    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

wondering  what  it  all  meant,  until  taken  away 
on  one  pretext  or  another;  but  they  never 
guessed  that  Pfister,  head  gardener  of  the 
White  House,  was  inside  that  enchanted  cham 
ber,  with  a  force  of  expert  assistants,  who 
were  putting  up  the  most  beautiful  and  perfect 
tree  that  could  be  found  in  all  the  country. 

Somehow  the  afternoon  passed,  supper  was 
disposed  of,  and  Christmas  Eve  stories  were 
told  while  stockings  were  being  hung  up;  and 
at  last  the  little  people  drowsily  went  to  bed, 
still  wondering,  still  hoping  that  they  might 
wake  up  late  at  night,  at  just  the  moment  when 
dear  old  Santa  would  be  coming  down  the 
chimney.  Long  after  they  were  asleep  Pfist'er 
and  his  men,  and  a  good  many  more  —  includ 
ing  the  President  of  the  United  States  himself 
-were  working  like  beavers  within  that 
library ;  and  it  was  quite  late  when  the  tree  was 
in  place,  and  dressed,  and  hung  with  countless 
gifts. 

I  saw  it  Christmas  morning,  as  did  others 
in  the  Executive  Office  who  had  been  invited 
to  be  present ;  and  it  was  truly  the  most  beau 
tiful  I  have  ever  seen,  before  or  since.  From 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    209 

topmost  point  to  the  floor  it  was  laden  with 
decorations,  with  toys  innumerable  for  the  chil 
dren,  and  with  gifts  for  the  older  ones.  And 
Mrs.  Harrison  had  made  sure  that  each  mem 
ber  of  her  husband's  office  staff  was  remem 
bered  with  a  personal  token.  I,  for  example, 
received  a  dainty  little  book  from  her,  with 
her  good  wishes.  In  addition  to  the  family 
gifts,  the  library  held  a  multitude  of  presents 
of  every  imaginable  kind,  from  scores  if  not 
hundreds  of  persons,  friends  and  strangers  - 
or  comparative  strangers  —  alike ;  for  at  the 
Christmas  season  the  President  and  his  house 
hold  are  very  widely  remembered. 

I  have  often  wished  that  those  who  some 
times  called  President  Harrison  "  a  human 
iceberg,"  could  have  seen  him  at  that  time,  and 
at  many  another  time  when  he  threw  aside 
official  reserve.  For  he  truly  was  a  man  who 
enjoyed  his  family  and  his  intimates  to  a 
marked  degree.  Although  he  and  Mrs.  Har 
rison  made  no  pretension  of  social  superiority 
they  were  well  educated,  accustomed  to  the 
best  of  society,  and  were  wholly  at  ease  wher 
ever  they  might  be.  A  frequent  visitor  at  the 


210    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

White  House  while  in  the  Senate,  General 
Harrison  felt  no  strangeness  of  surroundings 
when  he  came  there  as  President,  and  his  fam 
ily  life  moved  along  smoothly  from  the  first. 
Owing  to  his  stoutness  he  did  not  look  as  tall 
as  he  really  was,  and  perhaps  for  this  reason 
he  wore  a  silk  hat  and  a  frock  coat  when 
weather  conditions  permitted.  Always  digni 
fied,  with  keen  eyes  that  never  wavered,  with 
his  military  habit  of  command,  it  was  only 
natural  that  those  who  did  not  know  President 
Harrison  well  should  have  thought  him  ex 
tremely  cold,  reserved,  uncommunicative  con 
cerning  his  plans  and  purposes. 

When  he  came  to  the  White  House,  on 
March  4,  1889,  he  found  that  Mrs.  Cleveland 
had  prepared  a  luncheon  for  his  family,  and 
that  everything  was  in  readiness  for  their  occu 
pancy  of  the  great  mansion.  A  number  of 
personal  friends  were  present  at  this  first  meal 
in  the  Executive  Mansion,  and  they  made  a 
merry  party,  when  to  them  were  added  mem 
bers  of  the  President's  family.  At  that  time 
Russell  B.  Harrison,  the  President's  son,  was 
a  man  in  the  early  thirties,  and  while  a  visitor 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON 

at  frequent  intervals,  yet  he  did  not  reside  with 
his  parents  in  Washington,  as  did  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McKee,  Mrs.  Dimmick,  a  charming  young 
widow  of  thirty,  I  should  say,  and  the  Rever 
end  Doctor  Scott.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  next  to 
the  President  himself,  perhaps  the  most  widely 
known  member  of  the  White  House  family 
was  Baby  McKee.  As  soon  as  General  Har 
rison  had  been  nominated  for  the  presidency, 
throngs  of  people  flocked  to  Indianapolis  from 
all  over  the  country.  Little  Ben,  who  had  been 
born  in  his  grandfather's  house  on  March  15, 
1887,  was  a  very  lively  youngster,  and  as  such 
was  much  in  evidence  about  his  grandfather's 
home.  The  visitors  to  Indianapolis,  in  the 
summer  of  1888,  used  to  see  him  on  the  porch, 
or  in  the  grounds,  and  fell  into  the  habit  of 
saying  to  each  other: 

"  Oh,  there  's  General  Harrison's  grandson, 
Baby  McKee!" 

The  phrase  was  at  once  taken  up  by  news 
paper  correspondents  who  had  been  sent  to 
Indianapolis  to  "  keep  tabs  "  on  the  Republican 
nominee,  and  within  forty-eight  hours  "  Baby 
McKee  "  became  famous  —  such  fame  as  it 


MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

was.  Columns  were  written  about  him  and 
his  appearance,  and  what  he  ate  or  did  n't  eat, 
and  what  he  wore,  and  how  he  was  taken  care 
of.  For  some  reason  the  American  people 
seem  dearly  to  love  unimportant  details  con 
cerning  prominent  persons,  and  they  certainly 
were  furnished  with  enough  of  them  by  the 
papers,  in  this  instance.  The  family,  however, 
did  not  call  the  boy  "Baby  McKee."  To 
them,  especially  to  his  dignified  grandfather, 
he  was  always  '  Benjamin,"  or  sometimes 
4  Ben."  But  he  answered  as  readily  to  one  as 
to  the  other.  As  he  grew  older,  during  Gen 
eral  Harrison's  presidency,  he  developed  a 
taste  for  printing,  and  he  had,  even  as  a  little 
boy,  a  small  printing  outfit  at  the  White  House 
with  which  he  used  to  turn  out  cards  and  circu 
lars  of  all  kinds. 

If  there  was  one  comrade  in  the  world  whom 
President  Harrison  enjoyed  being  with,  it  was 
little  Ben.  In  the  privacy  of  the  living-rooms, 
upstairs,  he  used  to  romp  with  the  little  fellow 
whenever  opportunity  presented  itself;  and 
often  he  would  take  Ben  by  the  hand,  and  they 
would  gravely  start  off  for  a  walk  through  the 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON 

grounds  of  the  Executive  Mansion,  or  down 
Pennsylvania  Avenue;  and  thousands  whom 
they  met  would  stop  and  look  after  the  wee 
little  man,  holding  so  tightly  to  the  hand  of  the 
stout,  dignified,  elderly  gentleman,  who  wore 
a  silk  hat  and  a  long  frock  coat,  and  who  occu 
pied  one  of  the  most  exalted  positions  that 
mortal  man  may  attain. 

While  residing  at  the  White  House,  Presi 
dent  Harrison  and  his  wife  usually  attended 
service  in  the  Church  of  the  Covenant,  perhaps 
the  leading  Presbyterian  Church  of  Washing 
ton,  and  at  that  time  under  the  pastorate  of  the 
Reverend  Doctor  Hamlin.  They  went  to 
church  as  they  went  elsewhere,  with  the  utmost 
simplicity,  and  with  no  outward  distinction 
from  any  others  who  were  wending  their  way 
thither.  They  did  not  give  evidence  of  such 
positive  interest  in  religious  matters  as  Presi 
dent  and  Mrs.  Hayes  had  given,  but  I  am 
sure  they  were,  nevertheless,  deeply  interested 
in  all  that  good  works  could  accomplish. 

As  a  general  thing  one  of  the  first  duties  that 
the  wife  of  an  incoming  President  has  to  at 
tend  to,  and  one  which  she  usually  enjoys 


214    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

heartily,  is  that  of  making  such  rearrangement 
and  refurnishing  of  the  White  House  as  may 
be  necessary  or  advisable,  according  to  her  per 
sonal  taste,  the  size  and  customs  of  her  family, 
etc.  I  remember  one  occasion  when  Mrs.  Har 
rison  had  finally  decided  upon  some  slight 
architectural  changes,  that  she  brought  her  ap 
proved  plans  to  the  President,  and  asked  his 
opinion  of  them.  General  Harrison  studied 
the  drawing  with  care,  and  noticed  that  sev 
eral  niches  were  left,  each  plainly  marked.  At 
last  he  said: 

'  Well,  my  dear,  here  is  a  place  for  Lincoln, 
and  here  is  a  place  for  Grant's  bust.  And  you 
have  left  three  places  for  Vest."  Then  he 
added,  with  well  assumed  indignation:  "  I  am 
decidedly  opposed  to  so  many  monuments  to 
Vest,  in  the  White  House." 

Mrs.  Harrison  hastened  to  explain  —  what 
her  husband  of  course  knew  all  the  time  —  that 
the  word  "  Vest "  was  the  architect's  contrac 
tion  for  "  vestibule,"  of  which  there  were  three 
in  the  plans.  Whereupon  the  President  said 
he  was  satisfied,  and  handed  the  drawings  back 
to  her  with  a  twinkle  in  his  keen  blue  eyes. 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    215 

President  and  Mrs.  Harrison  were  what  may 
be  styled  "  home  bodies,"  a  good  deal  like  Pres 
ident  and  Mrs.  Hayes,  in  this  respect;  al 
though  the  Harrison  administration,  especially 
in  its  earlier  stages,  was  a  pretty  gay  one, 
owing  largely  to  the  fact  that  Mrs.  McKee  and 
Mrs.  Russell  Harrison  —  when  the  latter  was 
in  Washington  —  dearly  enjoyed  to  play  the 
part  of  gracious  hostesses.  And  as  they  all 
had  many  friends,  who  were  cordially  wel 
comed,  the  White  House  was  often  the  scene 
of  private  festivities.  The  formal  state  din 
ners  were  held,  of  course,  and  a  certain  number 
of  receptions.  Mrs.  Harrison  found  that  she 
had  plenty  to  do,  and  was  right  glad  to  have 
Mrs.  McKee  assist  her,  especially  in  handling 
her  correspondence,  for  she  employed  no  pri 
vate  secretary. 

The  President,  himself,  was  a  good  host,  and 
a  capital  story-teller  when  the  surroundings 
were  to  his  liking;  but  he  was  a  very  hard 
working  man  during  his  term  of  office.  He 
usually  spent  all  of  the  morning  and  a  part 
of  each  afternoon  at  his  desk,  or  in  consulta 
tion  with  Cabinet  Members,  Senators,  Repre- 


216    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

sentatives,  and  others  who  had  government 
business  to  bring  to  his  attention;  and  not  a 
few  of  his  evenings  were  thus  taken  up,  also. 
But  in  good  weather  he  would  often  slip  out 
of  the  building,  step  into  a  buggy  in  which  he 
liked  to  drive  alone,  and  go  spinning  over  the 
country  roads  until  he  came  to  some  pleasant 
woodsy  spot,  where  he  would  tie  his  horse,  and 
stroll  around  under  the  trees,  drinking  in  the 
fresh  air,  for  an  hour  or  two.  He  enjoyed 
these  rambles,  and  was  glad  for  the  time  being 
to  get  away  from  cares  of  state,  and  the  many 
details  of  national  importance  which  seem  al 
most  to  overwhelm  every  President. 

General  Harrison  did  not  care  for  hunting 
or  fishing,  as  did  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  he  took 
no  active  part  in  such  sports  as  golf,  tennis, 
billiards.  But  he  liked  to  drive  out  in  the 
country,  and  he  was  fond  of  walking,  both  in 
country  and  in  town.  Almost  every  pleasant 
day,  toward  sunset,  he  would  start  off  from  the 
White  House  grounds  and  step  briskly  over 
the  pavements,  sometimes  across  Lafayette 
Square  to  the  newer  portion  of  the  city,  some 
times  down  town.  Occasionally  little  Ben,  or 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    217 

another  of  his  intimates,  would  accompany  him, 
but  frequently  he  went  alone,  and  never 
thought  it  necessary  to  have  a  guard  following. 
A  quiet,  observant,  elderly  gentleman,  with 
white  hair,  and  beard  turning  white,  peering 
with  sharp  eyes  from  under  the  rim  of  his  silk 
hat,  generally  carrying  a  cane,  he  was  a  famil 
iar  figure  to  Washington;  and  well  liked,  too. 
Both  the  President  and  Mrs.  Harrison  had  a 
love  for  childhood,  and  were  ever  thinking  of 
something  to  make  happier  the  young  people 
of  the  vicinity  as  well  as  of  their  own  household. 
I  remember  in  this  connection  the  first  Easter 
day  of  the  Harrison  administration,  which 
came  late  in  April.  As  usual  on  Easter  Mon 
day  thousands  of  Washington  children  gath 
ered  on  the  South  Grounds  of  the  White 
House,  to  roll  their  eggs  down  the  grassy 
slopes ;  and  when  they  arrived  there  they  found 
a  wooden  stand  had  been  erected  in  the  center 
of  the  great  lawn.  The  boys  and  girls  came  in 
droves,  from  all  points  of  the  compass,  and 
every  one  of  them  was  wondering  what  that 
stand  meant ;  for  this  was  the  first  Easter  Mon 
day  when  one  had  been  placed  there.  They 


218    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

ascertained  when  the  Marine  Band  filed 
through  the  driveway  leading  to  it,  took  their 
places,  and  sounded  the  first  notes  of  "  Hail 
to  the  Chief,"  just  as  the  door  leading  from  the 
White  House  to  the  South  Portico  was  opened, 
and  out  came  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  holding  little  Ben  by  one  hand,  waving 
the  other  in  hearty  welcome  to  the  children 
swarming  over  the  slopes.  And  there  the  Pres 
ident  stood,  surrounded  by  a  group  including 
Mrs.  Harrison,  and  the  Reverend  Doctor 
Scott,  while  the  eggs  were  being  rolled.  At 
once  a  shout  went  up  from  thousands  of  child 
ish  throats  —  and  hearts,  too,  for  this  was  the 
first  time  that  the  famous  Marine  Band  had 
been  ordered  out  to  make  merrier  the  Easter 
Monday  egg-rolling. 

As  soon  as  President  Harrison  assumed  his 
official  duties,  immediately  after  inauguration, 
his  secretary,  Mr.  Halford,  informed  the  staff 
of  the  Executive  Office  that  there  would  be 
no  work  required  of  them  on  Sunday  except 
in  possible  cases  of  emergency.  Consequently 
most  of  the  staff  were  glad  to  take  advantage 
of  this  opportunity  to  rest  one  day  in  the  wreek, 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    219 

and  to  stay  away  from  the  White  House.  But 
from  long  habit  I  went  over  to  the  office  each 
Sunday  morning,  for  fear  that  something 
might  arise  for  which  I  would  be  needed.  And 
one  Sunday  —  it  was  May  12,  1889  --  I  found 
there  Mr.  Frank  Tibbett,  an  expert  stenogra 
pher  whom  General  Harrison  had  brought  on 
from  Indianapolis,  and  Miss  Alice  B.  Sanger, 
another  stenographer,  and  the  only  woman  ever 
employed  in  such  capacity  at  the  White  House. 
Miss  Sanger,  a  very  charming  young  woman, 
was  exceedingly  competent  in  her  work,  and 
still  is  in  government  employ.  Well,  I  had  not 
been  long  in  the  office,  that  May  Sunday,  when 
Mrs.  Harrison  entered,  accompanied  by  two 
grandchildren,  Benny  and  Mary  McKee.  She 
carried  a  quantity  of  beautiful  flowers  as 
gifts,  and  soon  afterward  Mrs.  McKee  came 
into  the  room,  bringing  a  basket  filled  with 
delicious  oranges  for  those  whom  she  found 
there.  I  am  quite  sure  she  did  not  know  of 
Mrs.  Harrison's  intentions,  nor  Mrs.  Harrison 
of  hers.  But  they  were  always  doing  things 
of  that  kind  —  remembering  others,  and  trying 
to  make  life  bright  and  happy. 


220    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

It  used  to  be  a  saying  in  Washington  that 
President  Harrison  would  go  down  on  his 
knees  to  only  one  person  —  little  Ben,  whom 
he  thought  more  of  than  any  one  else,  I  think, 
excepting  his  wife.  And  this  casual  saying 
proved  to  be  true  in  one  instance  that  I  recall, 
which  happened  at  about  noon  of  June  2,  1889. 
I  happened  to  be  walking  rapidly  through  a 
corridor  when  I  saw  the  President  just  ahead 
of  me,  carrying  his  grandson  in  his  arms.  In 
going  down  the  last  of  three  steps  General 
Harrison  made  a  misstep  and  fell  forward,  but 
although  down  on  his  knees  he  managed  so  as 
to  have  his  arms  break  the  fall,  and  guarded 
Ben  from  being  hurt.  The  President  at  once 
picked  himself  up,  and  went  on,  still  carrying 
his  precious  burden;  and  neither  of  them  so 
much  as  uttered  a  syllable  of  exclamation.  The 
President  probably  thought  that  words  would 
do  no  good,  arid  little  Ben  was  accustomed  to 
think  that  everything  his  grandfather  did  was 
right,  anyhow  -  -  tumbles  included. 

President  Harrison's  administration  was 
connected  with  an  unusual  number  of  tragic 
occurrences,  which  deeply  affected  all  those 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    221 

in  any  intimate  way  connected  with  the  White 
House.  Invitations  for  the  last  of  the  state 
dinners  of  the  season  had  been  issued  for  the 
sixth  of  February,  1890,  and  other  prepara 
tions  had  been  completed,  when  came  the  un 
expected  death  of  Secretary  Elaine's  daughter, 
on  Sunday,  February  2.  This  was  a  severe 
shock,  needless  to  say;  and  the  dinner  invita 
tions  were  at  once  ordered  withdrawn.  But 
before  this  could  be  accomplished,  on  the  very 
next  day,  February  3,  the  entire  country  was 
startled  by  the  awful  news  of  the  burning  of 
Secretary  Tracy's  residence,  and  the  death  of 
his  wife  and  daughter  and  French  maid,  and 
his  own  narrow  escape. 

The  President  had  made  an  appointment 
to  be  present  in  New  York  City  on  February 
4,  to  participate  in  the  centennial  celebration 
of  the  organization  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States.  And  so  urgently  was  his 
presence  desired  that  a  committee  from  New 
York  called  at  the  White  House  and  tried  to 
insist  that  he  keep  the  engagement;  but  he 
refused  to  go.  The  terrible  afflictions  so  sud 
denly  visited  upon  two  of  his  Cabinet  Officers 


222    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE   HOUSE 

affected  him  seriously;  and  he  was  in  constant 
attendance  upon  them  both,  doing  all  in  his 
power  not  merely  to  show  his  sympathy,  but 
to  give  practical  assistance. 

The  tragedy  in  Secretary  Tracy's  household 
occurred  early  in  the  morning  of  Monday,  and 
during  that  day  the  bodies  of  Mrs.  Tracy  and 
of  her  daughter  were  brought  to  the  White 
House,  where  they  were  placed  in  the  East 
Room,  under  the  great  chandelier,  being  con 
stantly  guarded  by  a  doorkeeper.  During 
that  day  and  the  day  following  many  friends 
called  at  the  White  House,  carrying  flowers, 
which  Mrs.  Harrison  and  Mrs.  McKee  ar 
ranged  with  their  own  hands  over  and  about 
their  dead  friends,  who  had  so  suddenly,  and 
in  such  an  awful  way,  been  called  from  this 
life. 

On  Wednesday  morning  the  funeral  ser 
vices  were  held.  Although  all  the  seats  that 
could  be  placed  in  the  East  Room  had  been 
provided,  yet  the  room  was  taxed  to  its  ut 
most  capacity  with  relatives  and  personal 
friends  of  the  mother  and  daughter.  At  eleven 
o'clock  all  who  were  to  be  present  had  arrived, 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    223 

and  the  choristers  slowly  paced  along  the  great 
corridor  from  the  western  end  of  the  building 
to  the  East  Room,  where  they  took  their  sta 
tion,  and  the  services  proceeded.  To  me,  who 
had  seen  so  much  of  gayety  and  grandeur  and 
impressive  ceremony  in  that  magnificent  apart 
ment,  during  so  many  years,  this  was  a 
strangely  tragic  sight.  As  the  choristers 
started  to  sing  "  Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul," 
many  of  those  present  joined  with  them,  or 
tried  to;  but  a  large  number  were  so  deeply 
affected  that  they  could  not  take  part  in  the 
music.  The  climax  was  reached  when  "  Rock 
of  Ages,  Cleft  for  Me  "  was  sung.  By  this 
time  the  great  audience  had  itself  under  better 
control ;  and  almost  every  one,  from  President, 
Vice-president,  Cabinet  Members,  and  other 
dignitaries,  down  to  the  least  important,  joined 
in  the  singing.  The  last  lines  had  just  been 
reached,  however,  when  a  realization  of  the 
horror  of  the  tragedy  seemed  to  surge  again 
through  all  minds  and  hearts.  Suddenly  one 
of  the  little  choir  boys  turned  white,  swayed 
slightly,  and  sank  to  the  floor,  fainting.  He 
was  immediately  carried  out  and  tenderly  cared 


224    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

for.  Instantly  the  President  glanced  keenly 
at  his  afflicted  Cabinet  Officer;  and  quickly 
stepped  across  to  him,  placing  a  hand  on  his 
arm,  and  by  words  of  sympathy  tried  to  calm 
him.  The  tension  was  so  great  by  this  time 
that  none  were  sorry  that  the  services  were 
closing.  The  bereaved  husband  and  father, 
still  leaning  on  the  President's  arm,  followed 
the  mortal  remains  of  wife  and  daughter  as 
they  were  borne  outward  from  the  East  Room 
to  the  doorway  of  the  White  House,  and  as 
they  were  being  placed  in  the  hearses  he  turned 
away  and  went  up  to  the  room  that  had  been 
provided  for  him  in  the  Executive  Mansion. 

The  birthday  anniversary  of  little  Ben  Har 
rison  McKee  came  only  a  fortnight  after  the 
events  recorded  above,  and  at  about  noon  of 
March  15,  he  made  a  visit  to  the  office  force, 
holding  tightly  to  his  mother's  hand.  The  little 
fellow  came  on  a  very  special  errand,  which 
was  to  present  to  each  of  us,  with  his  compli 
ments,  a  piece  of  his  birthday  cake.  As  soon  as 
this  was  accomplished,  Ben  climbed  up  on  a 
chair  and  amused  himself  for  nearly  an  hour, 
trying  to  use  a  typewriter,  his  mother  mean- 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    225 

while  remaining  there  and  chatting  with  some 
of  us. 

It  had  always  been  a  matter  of  great  satis 
faction  with  me  that  all  of  the  children  of  the 
White  House,  during  the  many  administra 
tions  I  have  served,  felt  that  they  were  welcome 
in  the  Executive  Offices,  and  never  hesitated 
to  come  there  whenever  they  wanted  to  do  so. 
I  remember  one  day  when  Mrs.  Harrison,  hav 
ing  her  grandchildren  with  her,  was  making  a 
tour  of  the  White  House,  showing  it  to  a 
friend,  a  Mrs.  Findley  of  Baltimore.  The 
little  people,  as  often  happened,  were  making 
a  good  deal  of  noise,  laughing,  and  skylarking 
as  little  ones  will  —  and  should !  —  but  as  soon 
as  they  reached  the  doors  of  the  busy  office  they 
became  quiet.  They  came  over  to  my  desk  for 
a  chat,  and  had  not  been  there  long  when  the 
President  entered. 

"  I  thought  I  heard  children's  voices  at  my 
door  a  little  while  ago,"  he  said.  '  Where  are 
they?  " 

Peering  this  way  and  that,  as  if  he  did  not 
see  them,  he  chuckled  away  down  in  his  beard 
—  as  jolly  grandfathers  sometimes  will  —  and 


226     MEMORIES   OF  THE   WHITE  HOUSE 

then,  without  warning,  stooped  down  and  kissed 
Mary  McKee  on  the  back  of  her  plump,  white 
little  neck.  To  the  surprise  of  every  one  Mary 
did  not  seem  to  appreciate  this  salutation ;  and 
vigorously  wiping  one  small  hand  across  her 
neck  as  if  to  wipe  away  the  kiss,  she  exclaimed : 

"Stop,  grandpa!  That  is  Cousin  Marin's 
place  to  kiss!  " 

She  was  so  in  earnest,  and  withal  so  indig 
nant,  that  the  grown-ups  who  were  there  could 
not  but  burst  into  a  shout  of  laughter;  but  the 
little  maid  was  soon  mollified,  and  went  out  as 
happy  as  she  had  come  in. 

The  very  next  day  after  this  occurrence 
Colonel  Lament's  children  and  their  mother 
made  a  visit  to  the  White  House,  where  they 
had  not  been  for  two  years.  In  that  short 
space  of  time  Bessie,  and  "  Midge,"  as  we 
once  called  her,  had  grown  out  of  their  baby 
hood,  and  had  become  very  pretty  little  girls, 
while  the  baby  of  the  Lamont  household,  Fran 
cis,  who  had  been  born  during  the  last  year  of 
Cleveland's  Presidency,  was  two  years  old  or 
more,  and  talked  as  prettily  -  -  in  "  baby  talk," 
of  course  —  as  ever  a  baby  did.  On  the  day 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    227 

referred  to,  March  31,  1891,  they  came  to  the 
White  House  to  see  Baby  McKee  and  his 
little  sister  Mary.  Lizzie,  the  old  nurse  of  the 
Lament  family,  was  with  them,  and  mightily 
pleased  I  was,  you  may  be  sure,  when  word 
was  brought  that  the  little  visitors  wanted  to 
see  Colonel  Crook.  I  went  downstairs  as  soon 
as  I  could,  and  found  them  seated  in  all  dignity 
and  magnificence,  in  the  great  East  Room.  It 
was  very  funny,  as  well  as  very  cunning,  to 
see  the  two  mites  of  humanity  gravely  en 
sconced  in  that  magnificent,  spacious  room, 
but  I  greeted  them  with  all  our  old-time  friend 
liness,  and  they  soon  forgot  their  immediate  sur 
roundings,  and  became  fellow  playmates  again 
of  the  elderly  man  who  was  so  glad  to  see 
them.  After  a  little  talk  the  youngsters  asked 
to  be  shown  through  the  parlors,  and  I  took 
them  from  one  room  to  another  with  all  the 
dignity  I  could  muster  on  such  short  notice 
and  under  such  circumstances,  leaving  them  in 
the  Blue  Room,  while  I  went  in  quest  of  Mrs. 
Harrison,  to  inform  her  of  the  visitors.  When 
she  learned  that  Colonel  Lament's  children 
were  there  to  call  on  Ben  and  Mary,  she  said: 


228    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

;c  Bring  them  upstairs  at  once,  Colonel,  if 
you  kindly  will."  So  I  returned  to  my  little 
friends,  and  went  upstairs  with  them,  carrying 
baby  Francis  in  my  arms.  At  the  nursery 
door  we  were  met  by  Mrs.  Harrison,  who  took 
them  inside  and  introduced  them  to  her  grand 
children.  Ben  at  once  perceived  that  it  was 
his  duty  to  act  as  host,  and  he  hurried  around, 
placing  chairs  for  the  guests.  There  was  a 
dead  silence  for  a  moment  after  they  were 
seated.  Then  Mary  Me  Kee  went  up  to  Fran 
cis,  and  said: 

:'  I  'm  glad  to  see  you." 

:c  How  many  dolls  Ve  you  got?"  Francis 
inquired. 

Mary  did  not  reply,  but  started  off  to  get 
these,  her  choicest  treasures,  and  soon  brought 
out  and  exhibited  the  French  doll,  the  German 
doll,  the  American  doll,  and  many  others. 
Finally,  to  crown  the  exhibit,  she  brought  the 
talking-doll,  and  made  it  "  speak  its  piece  " 
to  the  delight  of  all  present. 

After  this  marvelous  dolly  had  been  care 
fully  put  away,  Mrs.  Harrison  sent  for 
some  biscuits  —  wonderful  biscuits  they  were, 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    229 

too,  good  to  eat,  plenty  of  them,  and  all  made 
to  represent  chickens.  The  visitors  and  their 
host  and  hostess  were  very  busy  for  some  little 
time  after  this,  but  at  last  the  final  vestige  of 
crisp  cake  was  consumed,  and  Ben,  stepping 
to  Bessie  and  "  Midge  "  and  Baby  Francis, 
gravely  gave  his  hand  to  each  in  turn.  Where 
upon,  naturally,  good-byes  were  said. 

'  I  hope  you  will  all  call  again,"  remarked 
Ben,  in  his  distinguished  grandpapa's  most 
dignified  manner.  To  which  little  Francis 
lisped:  "Thank  you." 

Then  the  impromptu  party  broke  up.  And 
as  Colonel  Lamont's  three  little  ones  sedately 
walked  downstairs  to  the  main  entrance  of 
the  White  House,  I  said  to  myself  that  if  some 
older  people  in  high  position,  who  occasionally 
visited  the  White  House  during  one  adminis 
tration  or  another,  could  have  witnessed  the 
simplicity  of  these  children,  they  would  have 
learned  a  lesson  in  social  etiquette. 

The  day  before  Christmas,  1892,  a  well- 
known  physician,  Doctor  Gardener,  was  sum 
moned  to  the  White  House,  to  see  Russell  Har 
rison's  little  daughter,  who  was  ill;  and  when 


230    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

he  left  the  sick-room  he  said  she  was  suffering 
from  a  light  form  of  scarlet  fever.  As  may  be 
imagined,  this  was  a  startling  statement,  not 
merely  for  parents  and  grandparents  to  hear, 
but  for  every  one  of  the  large  force  who  were 
compelled  to  be  in  the  Executive  Mansion  day 
after  day.  Not  a  moment  was  lost  in  taking 
measures  to  prevent  the  spreading  of  the  dis 
ease,  especially  because  of  Ben  and  little  Mary 
McKee.  Mrs.  Russell  Harrison  had  been  oc 
cupying  the  room  formerly  used  by  President 
Arthur  and  President  Cleveland,  and  in  that 
room  the  child  was  quarantined.  So  com 
pletely  was  it  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the 
President's  household  that  only  by  means  of 
a  relay  of  messengers  could  news  be  obtained 
from  the  sick-room.  For  example,  when  Mrs. 
Harrison  sent  an  inquiry  there,  she  gave  it  to 
a  messenger,  who  took  it  halfway  down  the 
corridor  until  he  nearly  met  another  messenger, 
to  whom  he  repeated  the  inquiry,  and  this  sec 
ond  man  sped  further  down  the  corridor  to 
the  door  of  the  sick-room,  there  repeating  the 
question.  Some  one  inside  the  room  would 
give  him  the  answer,  and  he  would  hurry  back 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    231 

with  it  until  he  came  near  the  other  messenger, 
who  would  carry  it  to  Mrs.  Harrison  without 
having  come  in  direct  contact  with  patient, 
nurse,  or  even  his  fellow-messenger. 

Mr.  Robert  McKee  had  spent  Christmas  at 
the  White  House,  that  year,  with  his  wife  and 
children,  and  on  December  28  he  came  to  me 
and  said: 

"Colonel,  I  am  about  to  leave  for  New 
York.  Would  you  please  tell  one  of  the  door 
keepers  to  tell  the  steward  to  tell  Mr.  Russell 
Harrison's  man  to  say  to  Mr.  Harrison  that  I 
am  going  up  to  the  city,  and  ask  whether  I 
can  do  anything  for  him  there?  " 

I  carried  out  the  request,  and  in  due  time 
word  came  back  that  Russell  Harrison  had 
left  for  New  York  the  night  before.  This  may 
give  some  idea  of  the  isolation  that  was  main 
tained.  Mr.  Harrison,  of  course,  had  not  been 
quarantined,  but  he  kept  away  from  others 
of  the  President's  household  as  a  precaution 
ary  measure. 

In  drawing  near  the  close  of  my  remem 
brances  of  the  Harrison  family  life  in  the 
White  House,  I  feel  it  necessary  to  revert  once 


MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

more  to  an  experience  which  has  been  suffered 
by  more  occupants  of  the  Executive  Mansion 
than  most  people  are  aware.  I  refer  to  the 
keen  sorrow,  at  times  even  the  poignant  an 
guish,  felt  by  many  a  wife  and  mother  and 
daughter  of  one  President  or  another  as  a 
result  of  bitter  attack  by  opposition  newspa 
pers  and  men  in  opposing  political  parties 
or  factions.  Nowadays  we  term  as  "  muck- 
rakers  "  the  periodicals  which  attack  this  of 
ficial  or  that  corporation,  or  the  other  policy, 
with  charges  of  dishonesty,  with  insinuations  of 
improper  favoritism,  with  innuendo,  even,  of 
personal  profit  in  some  transactions.  The  name 
is  new,  that  is  all.  My  older  readers  will  re 
member  the  assaults  made  upon  the  character 
as  well  as  the  judgment  of  Lincoln.  President 
Johnson  was  the  subject  of  impeachment  pro 
ceedings,  Grant  was  "  followed  into  his  grave," 
by  political  assailants.  Few,  indeed,  have  es 
caped  fierce  attack,  ridicule,  or  worse.  When 
I  look  back  over  the  past  forty-six  years  in 
the  White  House,  and  recall  some  of  these 
things,  I  do  not  wonder  that  many  an  able,  bril 
liant  man  refuses  to  enter  public  life  in  this 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    233 

country,  simply  because  he  will  not  subject 
himself  and  his  family  to  such  misery.  It  is 
not  for  me  to  say  whether  any  of  the  Presi 
dents  whom  I  have  served  paid  serious  atten 
tion  to  the  wide-sweeping  tide  of  such  assault 
as  is  referred  to;  but  I  know  that  many  a  wo 
man  whose  husband  or  son  or  father  occupied 
the  most  exalted  position  in  the  gift  of  the 
American  people,  has  grieved  and  sorrowed, 
as  few  other  women  have  been  called  upon  to 
do.  And  the  wife  of  President  Harrison  was 
no  exception  to  the  general  rule. 

One  day,  in  the  course  of  business,  I  found 
myself  in  Mrs.  Harrison's  presence.  That  she 
was  suffering  keenly  needed  no  telling.  She 
had  been  reading  some  of  the  newspapers; 
and  as  I  approached  she  raised  her  eyes  and 
exclaimed : 

"  Oh,  Colonel  Crook,  what  have  we  done! " 

Shocked  at  her  appearance  I  said: 
4 1  do  not  understand,  Madam.     What  do 
you  mean? " 

'  What  have  we  ever  done,"  she  exclaimed, 
"  that  we  should  be  held  up  to  ridicule  by 
newspapers,  and  the  President  be  so  cruelly 


234    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

attacked,  and  even  his  little,  helpless  grand 
children  be  made  fun  of,  for  the  country  to 
laugh  at!" 

For  a  moment  I  did  not  know  what  to  reply ; 
and  she  continued: 

'If  this  is  the  penalty  for  being  President 
of  the  United  States,  I  hope  the  Good  Lord 
will  deliver  my  husband  from  any  further 
experience." 

As  I  left  her,  a  few  minutes  later,  I  won 
dered,  as  I  often  have  wondered  since,  whether 
the  men  who  sit  in  their  editorial  rooms  miles 
away,  framing  up  attacks,  devising  ridicule 
and  insinuation,  have  any  idea  of  the  merci 
less  way  their  barbed  arrows  not  only  sink 
into  the  hearts  and  souls  of  men  whom  the  peo 
ple  have  chosen  to  represent  them  and  who  try 
to  represent  them  fairly  and  honestly,  but  also 
tear  and  lacerate  the  loving,  tender  sympa 
thies  of  defenseless  women,  young  and  old, 
whose  cheeks  are  wet  with  hot  tears  when  they 
feel  the  wounds  caused  by  those  deadly  shafts. 

Any  man  in  public  office,  be  he  President  or 
street-sweeper,  who  does  wrong,  or  deals  un 
justly,  or  is  neglectful  of  the  trust  imposed  in 


FAMILY  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON    235 

him,  is  open  to  fair  criticism  and  honest  cen 
sure.  But  I  submit  that  it  is  cowardly,  wicked, 
cruel,  for  the  press  of  this  country  to  indulge 
in  such  unwarranted  assaults  as  have  been  all 
too  frequent;  to  drag  into  their  net  for  public 
exploitation  and  ridicule  the  women  and  chil 
dren  of  the  President's  family  and  to  show 
base  disregard  of  the  common  decencies  of  life. 
It  was  not  so  very  long  after  the  painful 
interview  with  Mrs.  Harrison,  recorded  above, 
that  she  lay  down  in  her  frailty  and  weakness 
in  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  White  House, 
where  she  breathed  her  last  between  Monday 
night,  October  24,  1892,  and  the  following 
morning.  A  loving  wife,  a  tender  mother,  an 
ideal  grandmother  —  she  passed  away  in  the 
room  made  memorable  by  the  sufferings  of 
Garfield.  As  far  as  possible,  under  the  cir 
cumstances,  the  funeral  services  were  private, 
and  interment  was  made  in  Indianapolis. 


VIII 

THE    HOME    LIFE    OF    McKINLEY 
IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

THROUGH  all  of  his  long  and  busy  public  life, 
William  McKinley  possessed  —  or  was  pos 
sessed  by  —  two  characteristics  that  set  him 
apart  from  almost  all  other  men  of  his  gener 
ation  because  of  their  intensity.  These  char 
acteristics  were  unswerving  devotion  to  his 
country,  and  unceasing  devotion  to  his  wife, 
all  the  more  beloved  because  of  her  invalidism. 
For  many  years  the  nation  at  large  had  had 
reason  good  and  sufficient  to  understand  the 
calibre  and  forcefulness  of  this  man's  patri 
otism —  from  that  day  in  June,  1866,  when 
President  Johnson  signed,  and  Edwin  M. 
Stanton  countersigned,  his  commission  as  Ma 
jor  in  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  McKin 
ley  had  been  growing  in  stature,  and  in  states 
manship.  Twenty-two  years  later  he  made 
a  memorable  address  before  the  Republican 

236 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  237 

Club  of  New  York,  on  the  night  of  Lincoln's 
birthday  anniversary;  and  the  newspaper  re 
porters  who  heard  his  ringing  words  there,  in 
the  old  Delmonico's  building,  tingled  as  they 
sent  them  flashing  through  the  land,  where 
next  morning  they  were  read  by  three  score 
millions  of  people. 

During  Major  McKinley's  life  in  Washing 
ton  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  he  resided  in  the  Ebbitt  House,  well 
known  as  the  home  of  army  and  navy  people; 
and  while  those  in  the  hotel  knew  how  tenderly 
he  cared  for  his  wife,  yet  this  was  not  generally 
understood,  perhaps,  until  he  gave  his  first 
state  dinner  as  President.  These  formal,  pre 
cise,  and  elegant  entertainments  are  by  no 
means  an  unimportant  feature  of  any  Presi 
dency.  It  is  through  them  that  Cabinet  Mem 
bers,  Supreme  Court  Justices,  members  of  the 
Diplomatic  Corps,  and  other  high  and  powerful 
personages  are  welcome  in  the  White  House. 
When  a  President  gives  a  state  dinner,  not  he 
alone,  but  the  whole  people  of  the  United 
States  are  the  hosts.  The  arrangement  and 
the  seating  of  the  guests  vary  according  to 


238    MEMORIES  OF  THE   WHITE  HOUSE 

circumstances,  and  the  tables  accommodate 
thirty-six  or  fifty  or  even  a  larger  number  of 
persons. 

It  had  always  been  the  unwritten,  and,  I 
believe,  the  invariable  custom  for  the  President 
to  take  out  to  dinner  the  wife  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  —  the  Chief  of  his  Cabinet;  and  this 
Secretary  to  have  the  honor  of  escorting  to 
table  the  wife  of  the  President;  or  in  her  ab 
sence,  whoever  may  be  acting  as  the  Lady  of 
the  White  House.  Thus  the  President  would 
sit  in  the  middle  of  one  side  of  the  table,  and 
next  to  him  the  wife  of  the  Secretary  of  State; 
and  the  Secretary  would  sit  opposite  the 
President,  and  at  his  side  would  be  the  Presi 
dent's  wife.  But  the  guests  assembled  for 
McKinley's  first  diplomatic  dinner  noticed 
that  the  President  gave  his  arm  to  Mrs. 
McKinley  and  escorted  her  to  the  state  dining- 
room.  The  President  took  his  place  as  usual, 
but  first  he  himself  carefully  drew  back  the 
chair  at  his  right,  and  helped  to  a  comfortable 
seat  therein  the  frail,  sweet-faced  little  woman 
on  whom  he  ever  lavished  the  love  and  ten 
derness  that  filled  his  heart  to  overflowing. 


HOME   LIFE   OF   McKINLEY  239 

From  that  hour  until  the  last  hour  he  spent 
alive  in  the  White  House,  Mrs.  McKinley  was 
always  at  her  husband's  side  in  any  public 
affair,  regardless  of  custom,  precedent,  or 
tradition.  And  when  he  was  falling  to  the 
ground,  that  awful  day  in  Buffalo,  holding 
his  hands  to  the  gaping  wound  in  his  side,  he 
found  strength  to  murmur: 

"  She  's  sleeping  —  break  the  news  gently 
to  her." 

Such  was  William  McKinley,  as  man  and 
husband. 

Because  of  his  long  residence  in  Washing 
ton,  and  his  prominence  in  national  affairs  for 
so  many  years,  Major  McKinley  was  familiar 
with  every  phase  of  official  life  when  came  the 
day  of  his  inauguration.  On  Thursday,  March 
4,  1897,  he  drove  to  the  Capitol  in  a  landau 
drawn  by  four  horses,  sitting  on  the  left 
of  the  outgoing  President,  Mr.  Cleveland. 
When  he  returned  to  the  White  House,  after 
having  been  inaugurated,  their  positions  were, 
as  usual,  reversed,  the  incoming  President  sit 
ting  on  the  right  of  the  outgoing.  On  the  box 
were  the  coachman  and  footman;  dashing 


240    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

ahead  to  make  sure  the  way  was  clear,  rode  a 
squad  of  mounted  police ;  and  surrounding  the 
carriage  was  a  troop  of  cavalry  -  -  the  famous 
Black  Horse  Troop  of  Ohio,  numbering 
among  its  members  in  their  brave  uniforms, 
Webb  Hayes,  a  son  of  a  former  President. 

Other  specially  invited  members  of  ^  the 
President's  inaugural  party  followed  close  be 
hind  him  in  other  carriages,  on  the  return  to 
the  White  House;  and  while  these  guests 
were  making  merry,  that  beautiful  day,  in 
corridors  and  the  Green  Room  and  the  Red 
Room,  President  McKinley  and  Mr.  Cleve 
land  went  by  themselves  into  the  Blue  Room, 
where  they  spent  a  few  minutes  in  quiet  con 
versation.  Both  of  them  seemed  to  be  very 
happy;  one  at  the  prospect  that  he  might 
prove  himself  worthy  of  the  trust  placed  in 
him  by  the  people  who  had  elected  him  to  the 
most  exalted  office  in  their  power;  and  the 
other  was  equally  elated,  because  he  now  saw 
before  him  possible  years  of  rest,  of  peaceful 
life  with  his  beautiful  young  wife  and  their 
children;  and  I  am  sure  that  a  great  load  was 
lifted  from  his  broad  shoulders  that  very  hour. 


HOME   LIFE   OF   McKINLEY  241 

As  they  stood  there  in  the  Blue  Room,  bid 
ding  good-bye  to  each  other,  Mr.  Cleveland 
caught  a  glimpse  of  me  as  I  was  hurrying  past 
in  the  corridor,  and  called  me  in. 

"  I  want  to  say  good-bye  to  you,  also,"  he 
said,  putting  forth  his  strong,  right  hand, 
which  I  grasped  for  a  moment.  He  added 
kindly  words  as  to  what  I  had  been  able  to  do 
for  him  during  his  two  terms;  and  I  think  he 
took  this  opportunity,  out  of  the  goodness  of 
his  heart,  because  he  thought  it  might  be  bet 
ter  than  any  formal  recommendation  he  might 
write  to  the  new  President.  I  am  sure  it  ac 
complished  the  evident  object;  and  I  was  so 
surprised  at  his  words  that  I  could  only  respond 
awkwardly,  I  fear,  to  his  good  wishes  so  ex 
pressed.  The  next  moment  he  and  President 
McKinley  were  shaking  hands  in  cordial  fare 
well;  for  whatever  their  political  differences, 
yet  each  knew  the  true  manhood  of  the  other, 
each  knew  that  the  other  had  fought  not  merely 
hard,  but  fairly,  for  his  principles;  and  that 
is  the  kind  of  thing  that  makes  inevitable  re 
spect  and  admiration  between  true  men  of 
even  the  most  pronounced  partisanship. 


242    MEMORIES   OF  THE   WHITE   HOUSE 

"Good-bye,  Mr.  President,"  said  Cleve 
land.  '  I  wish  you  success  and  happiness,  in 
the  next  few  years,  and  for  many  years  to 
come." 

"  Good-bye,  Mr.  Cleveland.  With  all  my 
heart  I  wish  you  happiness  and  peace,  and 
joy  —  for  you  and  yours." 

For  a  single  instant  these  two  men  stood 
there,  looking  into  each  other's  eyes,  smiling, 
hopeful  for  the  future,  and  confident.  Then 
they  parted,  Mr.  Cleveland  withdrawing  from 
the  Blue  Room  with  his  accustomed  impres 
sive  dignity.  Hardly  had  he  done  so  when  a 
frail  little  lady,  dressed  in  black,  hurriedly 
entered,  exclaiming: 

"  Major  1  Major,  where  are  you?  .  .  .  Oh!" 
she  added,  with  evident  relief  in  her  tones, 
"  there  you  are!  We  'd  better  start  now,  the 
luncheon  is  announced,  and  all  are  ready." 

The  President  at  once  stepped  forward, 
and  went  with  his  wife  to  join  the  guests  who 
had  assembled  to  welcome  him  to  his  new  home. 

There  was  nothing  forgotten  or  left  undone 
at  this  first  luncheon,  in  the  White  House  of 
President  McKinley,  for  he  had  wisely  decided 


Copyrighted,  1894,  by  George  M.  Edmondson 

William  McKinley  and  Mrs.  McKinley  at  Senator  Hanna's 
residence,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  July  25,  1894 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  24$ 

to  continue  as  steward  a  colored  man,  William 
Sinclair,  who  had  been  steward  during  both  of 
the  Cleveland  administrations,  and  who  served 
Mr.  Cleveland  in  Albany  before  his  employer 
was  elected  to  the  presidency.  As  soon  as  the 
luncheon  had  been  disposed  of,  the  new  Presi 
dent  went  to  the  great  reviewing-stand,  erected 
in  front  of  the  White  House  and  facing  Penn 
sylvania  Avenue,  where  he  remained  until  the 
parade  was  over.  A  pleasant,  beautiful  day  it 
was ;  and  this  fact  remains  clearly  in  my  mind 
because  the  weather  is  so  apt  to  be  inclement  at 
that  season.  And  we  all  hoped,  in  the  Execu 
tive  Office,  that  it  might  presage  a  calm,  clear, 
pleasant  administration.  Little  did  any  of  us 
suspect  that  scarcely  a  year  later  the  world  was 
to  be  startled  by  the  blowing  up  of  one  of  our 
splendid  war  ships  in  a  foreign  harbor,  and  that 
war,  quickly  following,  would  largely,  if  not 
wholly,  change  our  national  attitude,  would  add 
enormously  to  our  responsibilities  in  remote 
regions  of  the  earth,  and  would  be  the  final, 
compelling  reason  for  the  immediate  construc 
tion  of  a  ship  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama. 


244    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

When  the  parade  was  over,  that  afternoon 
of  Inauguration  Day,  President  McKinley 
returned  to  the  White  House,  and  passed  me 
as  I  was  standing  in  the  corridor.  As  he 
reached  the  door  of  his  office  he  paused,  turned 
slightly,  and  said: 

"  Crook,  will  you  come  in  with  me? " 

"  Certainly,  Mr.  President,"  I  responded. 
*  With  great  pleasure." 

He  passed  into  the  office,  and,  taking  a  chair, 
asked  me  to  be  seated.  Then  he  said: 

'  I  intend  to  get  right  down  to  business 
without  delay,  and  as  there  is  much  to  be  done, 
I  want  to  speak  with  you  about  the  personnel 
of  the  office  staff." 

He  paused  long  enough  to  light  a  fresh 
cigar  —  for  he  was  a  heavy  smoker  —  and  then 
continued : 

"  In  the  first  place,  I  wish  to  make  as  few 
changes  as  possible.  I  do  not  want  to  make 
any  changes  unless  necessary  for  the  good  of 
the  service,  and  so  I  take  the  earliest  oppor 
tunity  to  speak  to  you  about  the  office  staff." 

Thereupon  we  entered  into  a  discussion  of 
the  whole  matter ;  he  asked  many  questions  re- 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  245 

garding  the  office  routine  and  the  work  of  the 
various  men,  which  I  answered  carefully  and 
truthfully.  At  the  end  of  half  an  hour  he  had 
grasped  the  situation  fully.  Then  I  left  him 
and  went  back  to  my  desk,  more  than  satisfied 
with  the  outcome.  I  had  known  Major  Mc- 
Kinley  for  many  years,  of  course,  and  had  al 
ways  found  him  kindly,  agreeable,  courteous; 
but  I  did  not  know  until  after  that  first  inter 
view  in  the  Executive  Office,  just  what  my  re 
lations  to  him  would  be  while  he  was  President. 
I  found  him  absolutely  unchanged;  dignified, 
always  conscious  of  his  influence,  therefore, 
careful  of  his  words.  But  in  no  sense  other  than 
the  simple,  true-hearted,  American  citizen  he 
had  been  from  the  day  when  I  first  laid  eyes 
on  him,  many  years  previous. 

While  President  McKinley's  immediate  fam 
ily  consisted  only  of  himself  and  his  wife,  yet 
his  brother,  Abner  McKinley,  and  Mrs.  Abner 
McKinley,  and  their  daughter  Miss  Mabel  Mc 
Kinley,  were  frequent  visitors  at  the  White 
House,  as  were  such  intimate  friends  as  Gen 
eral  Hastings  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Governor 
Herrick  of  Ohio.  The  President's  wife  was 


246    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

not  an  invalid  in  the  sense  that  Mrs.  Andrew 
Johnson  had  been;  and  while  she  never  was 
strong  and  well,  when  I  knew  her,  yet  she 
generally  was  up  and  about  the  White  House, 
doing  her  part,  in  every  way  desirous  of  aiding 
her  husband  so  far  as  her  physical  disability 
would  permit. 

When  living  in  the  White  House  she  was 
rather  frail  in  appearance,  and  her  hair  was 
turning  gray.  But  the  sweetness  of  her  face, 
and  her  eyes,  showed  that  in  her  younger  days 
she  must  have  been  a  very  beautiful  woman. 
At  the  formal  receptions  she  would  take  her 
place  by  her  husband's  side,  and  there  stand 
with  him  at  the  head  of  the  receiving-line  as 
long  as  her  strength  held  out,  after  which  she 
would  sit  down;  but  she  would  remain  close 
to  him  until  the  affair  was  over. 

There  was  little  of  real  gayety  in  the  White 
House  during  President  McKinley's  residence 
there,  for  several  reasons.  In  the  first  place 
he  was  a  grave,  serious-minded  man,  who  had 
been  preoccupied  with  serious  affairs  for  so 
much  of  his  life  that  he  had  never  cultivated 
the  lighter  side  to  any  appreciable  extent. 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  247 

Then  again,  gayety,  lightness,  music,  merri 
ment  were  foreign  to  his  nature.  Had  he  been 
the  father  of  lusty,  growing  children,  all  this 
might  have  been  altered;  but  he  lived  apart 
from  that  one  element  of  human  life  which, 
more  than  any  other,  keeps  men  and  women 
young,  despite  advancing  years.  Furthermore, 
his  wife's  ill-health  was  a  constant  source  of 
anxiety  to  him,  and  because  of  her  nervous 
disorder  she  was  physically  unable  to  endure, 
much  less  inspire  in  others,  an  atmosphere  of 
singing  joyousness.  Lastly,  her  husband  was 
the  subject  of  fierce  attack,  growing  more  and 
more  bitter,  on  the  part  of  opposing  politicians 
and  newspapers,  which  in  itself  was  sufficient 
to  crush  to  earth  the  spirits  of  any  human  be 
ing,  no  matter  how  laughter-loving  by  nature; 
and  to  this  was  added  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
conditions  in  Cuba,  growing  more  terrible,  it 
seemed,  month  by  month.  Taken  altogether, 
it  is  no  wonder  that  President  McKinley's  home 
life  in  the  White  House  was  grave  rather  than 
gay.  Yet,  when  his  niece,  Miss  Mabel  McKin- 
ley,  visited  there,  she  brought  with  her  a  re 
vivifying  rush  of  good  spirits  and  joyousness 


248    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

that  was  most  welcome.  We  all  knew  when 
she  had  arrived,  for  soon  after  her  coming  she 
would  sit  down  at  a  piano,  either  in  the  Red 
Room,  or  in  the  President's  living-rooms  up 
stairs,  and  her  truly  remarkable  voice  would 
come  rolling  and  swelling  through  the  corri 
dors  in  a  way  that  made  most  of  those  in  the 
office  lay  down  their  pens  and  listen  intently. 
The  President  and  Mrs.  McKinley  usually 
had  friends  for  luncheon  at  one  o'clock,  or 
shortly  after;  and  Mrs.  McKinley  received  her 
intimate  friends  in  her  own  reception  room, 
both  in  the  morning  and  in  the  afternoon,  when 
she  was  not  engaged  in  household  duties,  for 
these  she  attended  to  punctiliously,  notwith 
standing  her  ill-health.  She  did  not  go  out  as 
much  as  wives  of  most  other  Presidents  have 
done,  and  she  spent  a  great  deal  of  her  time 
in  reading ;  but  even  more,  I  think,  in  knitting 
or  sewing  fancy  articles,  which  she  freely  gave 
away  to  be  sold  at  church  fairs  all  over  the 
country,  or  in  other  charitable  ways.  She  was 
unable  to  take  active  part  in  such  affairs,  but 
she  felt  that  she  could  do  something  in  the 
manner  alluded  to.  I  have  understood  that  the 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  249 

articles  made  by  the  President's  wife  often  sold 
for  a  price  that  helped  materially  to  swell  the 
receipts  of  various  fairs.  Her  sister,  Mrs.  M. 
C.  Barber,  of  Canton,  Ohio,  was  frequently  a 
visitor  at  the  White  House,  but  she  was  not 
able  to  have  many  other  house  guests. 

President  McKinley,  like  his  wife,  always 
dressed  well,  but  neither  of  them  had  any  ex 
pensive  tastes  that  I  am  aware  of.  He  was 
quite  content  to  drive  every  pleasant  afternoon, 
back  of  a  span  of  horses  that  were  good  enough 
roadsters  for  the  average  American  gentleman 
to  possess,  but  which  were  by  no  means  to  be 
compared  with  the  matched  teams  of  Grant, 
or  Harrison,  or  Cleveland.  But  Mr.  McKin 
ley  seemed  to  enjoy  them  as  thoroughly  as  if 
they  had  been  the  finest  span  from  the  Tsar's 
stables.  Beyond  these  daily  drives  in  and  about 
Washington,  and  walks  around  the  White 
House  grounds  with  his  secretary,  John  Ad- 
dison  Porter,  Mr.  McKinley  did  not  take  much 
exercise.  He  did  not  care  for  billiards  or  golf 
or  tennis,  or  —  so  far  as  I  ever  knew  —  for 
hunting  or  fishing. 

One  thing  he  thoroughly  did  enjoy,  how- 


250    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

ever,  was  a  moderately  good  cigar;  a  fairly 
good  cigar,  I  mean,  well  made,  of  suitable  size, 
consisting  principally  of  domestic  leaf.  For 
expensive,  choice,  imported  cigars  he  did  not 
care  at  all.  When  he  became  President,  and  it 
was  expected  that  on  certain  occasions  he  would 
have  fine  cigars  to  offer,  he  would  provide  the 
best  that  Havana  could  send  to  this  country. 
But  he  always  had  in  a  drawer  of  his  desk  a 
box  of  his  favorite  brand,  for  his  own  personal 
enjoyment;  and  the  counterpart  of  that  box 
was  always  kept  open,  day  and  night,  at  the 
cigar-stand  of  the  Ebbitt  House,  ready  for  him 
should  he  happen  to  stop  in  at  any  moment. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  was  by 
nature  and  custom  serious  and  dignified,  Pres 
ident  McKinley  was  kindness  itself  to  the 
employees  in  his  Executive  Office.  During  his 
entire  presidency  he  never  returned  to  the 
city  after  an  absence  without  stepping  into 
the  office,  waving  his  hand  to  the  entire  staff, 
and  saying,  cordially: 

"  Gentlemen,  I  am  glad  to  see  you  all  again ! " 
Pie  never  missed  giving  us  this  personal 
greeting,  from  the  day  he  entered  the  Execu- 


I 

3 

U 

"c 


\ 


HOME   LIFE   OF   McKINLEY  251 

tive  Mansion  as  President  until  he  left  it  for 
the  last  time.  Furthermore,  notwithstanding 
his  dignity  of  demeanor,  he  was  always  ap 
proachable  by  any  who  had  reason  to  call  upon 
him;  and  he  always  seemed  to  have  time  to 
transact  his  business  without  being  hurried.  I 
never  saw  him  out  of  temper,  or  ruffled  or 
disturbed,  even  for  an  instant.  Perhaps  it  was 
because  of  his  equable  disposition,  and  his  self- 
control,  and  ease  of  manner,  that  he  was  so 
often  called  upon  to  use  his  personal  influ 
ence  to  settle  disputes,  for  years  before  he  be 
came  President.  And  it  was  because  of  his 
success  in  smoothing  over  differences  that  he 
was  often  called  "  The  Pacifier  "  by  his  fellow 
members  in  the  House. 

This  ability  to  calm  down  others  I  think  re 
sulted  from  the  tact  with  which  McKinley  was 
so  richly  endowed,  and  which  more  than  once 
served  him  in  good  stead.  I  recall  one  incident 
that  illustrates  the  carefulness  with  which  he 
guarded  his  words,  lest  misconstruction  might 
be  placed  upon  them.  On  October  22,  1897, 
the  East  Room  was  filled  with  people  waiting 
to  pay  their  respects  to  the  President;  among 


252    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

them  Mrs.  John  A.  Logan,  who  had  brought 
with  her  Miss  Cisneros,  the  young  and  beau 
tiful  Cuban  girl  who  had  been  rescued  from  a 
Spanish  prison  by  Mr.  Karl  Decker,  who  was 
also  present  with  his  wife.  Miss  Cisneros  had 
undergone  an  experience  which  had  attracted 
to  her  the  sympathy  and  admiration  of  the 
whole  country,  and  she  was  placed  in  the  front 
of  the  crowd  of  those  who  had  assembled  to 
meet  the  President.  At  that  time,  of  course, 
the  talk  of  American  intervention  in  Cuba  was 
growing  stronger  and  stronger;  tales  of  Span 
ish  oppression  and  atrocity  were  being  printed 
far  and  wide,  and  the  more  irresponsible  of 
the  sensational  newspapers  were  doing  their 
best  to  inflame  the  people  in  order  to  bring 
about  the  war  which  many  felt  was  inevitable. 
At  first  it  was  not  known,  that  October  af 
ternoon,  that  Miss  Cisneros  had  come  to  the 
White  House  to  pay  her  respects  to  the  Pres 
ident.  But  soon  this  became  noised  about,  and 
every  one  tried  to  get  near  enough  to  see  what 
the  President  would  do,  and  to  hear  what  he 
would  say.  The  great  mass  of  those  present 
in  the  East  Room  —  who  did  not  understand 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  253 

McKinley  —  thought  he  might  show  by  his 
words  and  manner  what  he  intended  to  do  in 
the  Cuban  situation  which  all  felt  was  rapidly 
nearing  a  crisis.  For  it  is  by  no  means  unusual 
for  a  ruler  in  some  such  way  to  give  an  indica 
tion  of  his  attitude  toward  a  great  question 
that  is  agitating  the  whole  people.  Conse 
quently  all  pressed  forward,  with  manifesta 
tions  of  excitement,  to  see  Miss  Cisneros,  and 
note  the  way  she  was  greeted  by  the  President. 

Before  long  Mr.  McKinley  came  into  the 
East  Room,  and,  approaching  Mrs.  Logan, 
extended  his  hand,  greeting  her  cordially, 
whereupon  she  introduced  Miss  Cisneros  and 
Mr.  Decker.  The  President  shook  hands  with 
them  courteously;  then,  without  giving  them 
any  special  attention  whatever,  turned  to 
others  who  were  waiting  in  line.  Thus  he  was 
particular  to  show  no  favoritism  whatever ;  and 
I  verily  believe  that  if  the  Commander  of  the 
Spanish  Garrison  in  Cuba  had  been  directly 
back  of  Miss  Cisneros,  the  President  would 
have  given  him  the  same  impersonal,  non 
committal  greeting. 

Not  long  after  General  Harrison  had  been 


254    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

inaugurated,  he  sent  for  me,  handed  me  his 
army  commission,  and  asked  me  to  take  care 
of  it.  And  on  February  10,  1898,  President 
McKinley  called  me  into  his  office,  and  handed 
me  a  rolled  document,  saying : 

"  Crook,  here  is  my  commission  as  Major  in 
the  army.  I  wish  you  would  personally  see 
that  it  is  framed,  in  order  that  it  may  be  pre 
served  from  injury." 

I  wondered  at  the  time  that  neither  of  these 
men  had  taken  care,  long  before,  that  their 
commissions  should  be  framed;  but  both  were 
extremely  modest,  shunning  display,  and  feel 
ing  no  doubt  that  the  military  services  they  had 
rendered  were  comparatively  unimportant.  In 
their  dislike  of  anything  approaching  personal 
display  they  were  much  like  Lincoln,  Grant, 
and  Cleveland.  They  felt  a  certain  contempt 
for  such  merely  outward  appearance,  and 
seemed  to  regard  it  as  akin  to  childish  vanity. 
Whether  this  feeling  was  justified  is  not  for 
me  to  say ;  but  I  do  remember  with  amusement 
that  it  was  left  for  a  civilian  President,  Mr. 
Cleveland,  to  be  the  object  of  military  display 
which  up  to  that  time  had  not  been  shown  any 


Copyrighted  by  Clmedinst,  AVashington,  D.  C. 


The  President's  Bedroom 


Copyrighted  hy  Clinedinst,  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  President's  Dining-Roora 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  255 

of  our  Presidents,  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain. 
And  you  may  be  sure  that  Mr.  Cleveland, 
with  his  honest,  bluff  simplicity  of  taste,  was 
not  responsible  for  the  innovation,  which  came 
about  in  this  way: 

During  one  of  the  earlier  of  Cleveland's 
public  receptions,  a  large  number  of  guests 
reached  the  White  House  quite  early  in  the 
evening.  Just  before  the  time  arrived  for  the 
President  to  come  downstairs  and  take  his  place 
at  the  head  of  the  receiving-line,  Colonel  La 
ment  hurried  up  to  me,  as  I  was  strolling 
through  the  rooms,  inspecting  the  company 
gathered  there,  and  said: 

"  Crook,  there  are  a  good  many  army  and 
navy  officers  present.  I  wish  you  would  ask 
them  all  out  into  the  corridor,  and  have  them 
form  in  two  lines,  leading  from  the  foot  of 
the  main  staircase,  so  that  when  the  President 
comes  down  he  may  pass  between  the  lines." 

'  You  wish  the  army  and  navy  officers  lined 
up  from  the  foot  of  the  main  staircase?"  I 
asked  to  make  sure. 

"  Yes,"  he  replied,  "  and  you  had  better  start 
at  once,  for  the  President  will  soon  appear." 


256    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Whereupon  I  at  once  approached  the  offi 
cers,  saying: 

"  Colonel  Lamont  would  be  greatly  obliged 
if  you  would  kindly  form  two  lines,  leading 
from  the  foot  of  the  main  staircase,  so  the  Presi- 
ident  may  pass  through,  and  thus  be  received 
with  military  and  naval  honors." 

Some  of  the  officers  started  at  once  for  the 
great  corridor,  but  others  looked  sharply  at  me 
to  see  if  I  were  serious.  I  assured  these  latter 
that  I  was  entirely  serious  in  delivering  Colo 
nel  Lament's  message,  and  that  he  had  been 
wholly  serious  in  making  the  request. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  lines  were  formed,  the 
Marine  Band  started  to  play  "  Hail  to  the 
Chief,"  and  Mr.  Cleveland  came  down  the 
stairway  with  dignified,  deliberate  step.  If  he 
was  surprised  to  see  at  the  foot  of  it  the  two 
lines  of  army  and  navy  officers,  resplendent 
in  dress  uniforms,  he  made  no  sign,  unless  it 
was  to  glance  even  more  sharply  than  usual 
from  under  that  calm,  firm  brow.  At  any  rate 
he  passed  through  the  rigidly  composed  lines 
without  comment, 'and  the  reception  thereafter 
took  place  as  usual. 


HOME  LIFE   OF   McKINLEY  257 

Of  course,  the  innovation  quickly  became  a 
topic  of  general  conversation,  which  continued 
during  most  of  the  evening.  Some  of  the 
guests,  particularly  civilians,  thought  it  a  good 
thing  for  the  Commander-in- Chief  to  be  shown 
such  honor  and  deference ;  but  most  of  the  offi 
cers  kept  their  own  counsel.  Before  the  re 
ception  was  over,  however,  one  gray-haired  old 
warrior,  who  had  fought  Indians  all  over  the 
plains  before  going  to  the  front  in  "  sixty-one," 
backed  me  up  into  a  corner,  and  delivered  him 
self  of  an  opinion.  His  neck  and  face  were  a 
deep  red  with  suppressed  emotion,  and  his  eyes 
had  a  steely  glint  as  he  said : 

"  Crook,  I  want  to  know  if  that  is  to  be  the 
usual  thing  at  public  receptions  after  this?  Do 
you  know  what  I  felt  like  ?  Well,  I  '11  tell  you ; 
I  felt  as  if  we  were  a  lot  of  blooming  flower 
pots  stood  up  there  in  two  rows  for  the  Presi 
dent  to  saunter  in  between,  and  if  this  is  an 
example  of  democratic  simplicity,  you  '11  find 
that  the  country  does  n't  like  it,  and  does  n't 
want  it ! " 

I  explained  that  the  request  I  had  delivered 
came  not  from  the  President,  but  from  Colonel 


258    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Lament,  and  did  all  I  could  to  pacify  the  in 
dignant  officer.  But  such  things  were  wholly 
absent  during  McKinley's  administration,  as 
they  had  been  under  Harrison's. 

The  first  year  of  President  McKinley's  home 
life  in  the  White  House  was  burdened  with 
many  public  issues,  and  especially  with  the  news 
from  Cuba  which  grew  more  and  more  serious 
as  the  months  went  by.    It  has  often  been  said 
that  this  country  was  forced  into  the  war  with 
Spain  by  certain  inflammatory  newspapers,  es 
pecially  in  New  York,  the  reiterated  sensational 
articles  and  cartoons  of  which  drove  the  un 
thinking  part  of  the  people  into  a  condition  of 
unreasoning  hysteria.     It  has  been  said,  also, 
that  some  sort  of  intervention  by  the  United 
States  was  inevitable;  and  that  Spain  could 
not  have  effected  a  sale  of  Cuba  to  this  country, 
or  allowed  us  to  take  charge  of  Cuban  affairs 
in  any  other  way,  without  undergoing  a  revo 
lution  at  home.    Be  that  as  it  may,  one  thing 
I  am  certain  of:  President  McKinley  did  every 
thing  in  his  power  to  avert  war.     He  knew 
what  war  meant.     He  knew  that  almost  any 
thing  is  preferable  to  war,  and  to  avert  hostili- 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  259 

ties  he  toiled  day  after  day,  night  after  night, 
regardless  of  personal  fatigue  and  danger  to 
his  health. 

During  all  those  weeks  and  months,  too, 
when  he  was  laboring  as  few  other  men  have 
labored  under  like  circumstances,  he  was  the 
object  of  as  venomous  attack  as  if  he  were  a 
monster,  a  traitor  to  his  country,  an  unmiti 
gated  scoundrel  devoid  of  compassion  and  com 
mon  humanity.  Those  who  were  constantly  in 
the  White  House  during  that  winter  of  1897- 
1898,  knew  what  he  went  through;  and  they 
were  not  displeased  when  word  came  from  city 
after  city  that  clubs  and  civic  bodies  and  com 
mercial  organizations  had  passed  resolutions 
refusing  to  admit  to  their  reading-rooms  the 
worst  of  those  newspapers.  But  through  it  all 
President  McKinley  gave  no  outward  sign 
that  he  was  affected  by  the  attacks.  He  was 
ever  calm,  quiet,  self-contained ;  and  if  possible 
his  care  of  his  wife  grew  more  and  more  tender 
as  the  assaults  upon  his  motives  and  his  integ 
rity  grew  in  intensity. 

The  President  and  his  wife  could  not  be  as 
much  together  in  those  anxious  days  and  even- 


260    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

ings,  as  they  had  usually  been.  Yet  when  he 
was  with  her,  at  table,  or  for  a  few  minutes 
in  the  afternoon,  or  for  a  little  visit  in  the 
library  after  dinner,  he  looked  after  her  as  if 
she  were  a  child.  When  she  wanted  a  pen,  or 
a  needle,  or  a  book  to  read,  all  she  did  was  to 
say  so,  and  the  President  would  start  at  once, 
hurrying  after  it  as  quickly  as  possible.  This 
devotion  to  his  invalid  wife  was  beautiful ;  but 
it  was  also  pathetic  when  we  knew  the  weight 
of  affairs  he  was  carrying,  which  in  their  ulti 
mate  aspect  could  hardly  fail  to  change  the 
position  and  relations  of  the  United  States  with 
all  the  rest  of  the  world. 

I  left  my  home  on  the  morning  of  February 
15,  1898,  without  having  glanced  at  a  news 
paper.  Matters  relating  to  Cuba  had  become 
so  critical  that  each  morning  I  went  to  the 
office  as  soon  as  I  could  eat  a  little  breakfast, 
and  without  pausing  to  read  a  paper  or  do 
anything  else. 

As  soon  as  I  set  foot  in  the  White  House 
I  knew  that  something  terrible  had  happened. 
Clerks  and  messengers  were  hurrying  to  and 
fro;  the  rooms  fairly  buzzed  with  excitement; 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  261 

additional  emergency  operators  were  swarming 
into  the  telegraph  room,  where  messages  ad 
dressed  to  the  President  were  arriving  from  all 
over  the  country,  from  hundreds  of  private  citi 
zens,  and  from  newspapers,  as  well  as  from 
officials.  Reporters  and  correspondents  were 
crowding  the  hallway  upstairs,  and  word  was 
brought  that  the  President  wished  to  see  me  at 
once  in  his  private  office.  I  hurried  thither, 
and  entering,  found  McKinley  bending  over 
papers  and  telegrams  and  maps  spread  out  on 
his  desk.  As  I  came  in  he  looked  up,  and 
while  his  words  were  calm  and  his  voice  un 
changed,  yet  he  looked  greatly  distressed.  He 
had  done  all  he  could  to  avert  war,  but  the 
sinking  of  the  Maine  was  the  climax,  and  then 
nothing  could  avert  hostilities. 

Scarcely  had  he  given  me  my  instructions 
when,  early  as  it  was,  Cabinet  Officers  and  Sen 
ators  began  to  arrive,  and  from  that  day  until 
April  25,  when  Congress  declared  war,  the 
President  scarcely  took  time  to  eat  or  sleep. 
During  these  ten  days  Mrs.  McKinley  was 
greatly  distressed  because  her  husband  was 
worried;  and  of  course  this  added  to  his  anx- 


MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

iety.  But  when  Dewey's  success  at  Manila 
was  assured,  the  load  of  sadness  was  lifted  from 
both  of  them,  and  the  President  seemed  to  be 
greatly  elated;  for  he  knew  that  this  brilliant 
victory  meant  an  early  ending  of  the  war. 

When  the  treaty  of  peace  had  been  signed, 
there  remained  much  to  do  in  reorganizing  some 
sort  of  government  in  Cuba,  and  in  trying  to 
help  the  Cubans  to  support  themselves;  for 
these  reasons,  largely,  McKinley's  home  life 
in  the  White  House  was  mostly  a  life  of  the 
hardest  kind  of  work.  All  employed  there 
were  glad,  I  think,  when,  in  the  first  week  of 
September,  1901,  he  went  to  Buffalo  with  Mrs. 
McKinley  to  make  an  address  at  the  Pan- 
American  Exposition. 

It  so  happened  that  not  a  single  member  of 
the  Cabinet  was  in  Washington  on  the  af 
ternoon  of  Friday,  September  6.  The  Vice- 
president,  Mr.  Roosevelt,  was  at  Isle  La 
Motte,  in  Lake  Champlain,  as  guest  of  the 
Vermont  Fish  and  Game  League.  Members 
of  the  office  staff,  of  course,  were  attending  to 
their  duties  in  the  White  House,  and  business 
was  going  forward  as  usual,  when  a  key  in  the 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  263 

telegraph  room  snapped  out  a  few  words  which 
caught  the  ever-alert  ear  of  Colonel  Montgom 
ery,  Superintendent  of  the  White  House  Tele 
graph  Bureau. 

With  an  exclamation  of  horror,  he  sprang 
out  of  his  chair,  himself  flashed  an  order  for 
a  through  wire  to  the  telegraph  office  in  the 
Exposition  grounds,  and  while  this  was  being 
made  ready  he  stepped  out  to  the  main  office 
and  read  us  the  message  he  had  just  received, 
and  which  came  from  the  Chief  Operator  of  the 
Western  Union  in  Buffalo. 

It  was  a  brief  message,  hurled  through  to 
Washington  with  the  utmost  despatch,  and 
gave  merely  the  salient  facts  that  the  President 
had  been  shot  "  by  an  American  Anarchist." 
Somehow  news  of  the  startling  tragedy  flew 
like  wildfire  through  the  White  House,  and 
as  Colonel  Montgomery  slowly  and  solemnly 
read  the  message  the  office  became  crowded 
with  employees,  officials,  and  newspaper  men 
who  hurried  in.  Tears  streamed  down  Colonel 
Montgomery's  face  as  he  sought  to  keep  his 
voice  calm ;  others  were  trembling,  going  white 
with  shock.  And  as  I  glimpsed  the  meaning  of 
those  words,  I  cried  in  my  heart : 


264    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

"Good  God!  First  Lincoln  — then  Gar- 
field  —  and  now  McKinley !  " 

Under  the  strain  and  the  memories  I  broke 
down  and  wept  like  a  child. 

Half  an  hour  after  the  receipt  of  this  first 
despatch  came  a  message  over  the  long-dis 
tance  telephone  wire  from  an  official  of  the 
Exposition,  giving  details  of  the  tragedy;  and 
a  little  later  Mr.  Dawes,  Comptroller  of  the 
Treasury,  and  Mrs.  Dawes,  together  with  Pay 
master  Barber  —  nephew  of  Mrs.  McKinley 
-  took  a  train  from  Washington  for  Buffalo. 

Of  course,  none  of  the  office  staff  thought 
for  a  moment  of  going  home  at  the  close  of  the 
business  day,  or  of  dining  or  of  doing  anything 
else  than  waiting  for  further  news,  which  came 
at  intervals,  in  brief  bulletins,  until,  at  six 
o'clock,  General  Gillespie,  acting  Secretary  of 
War,  received  from  Captain  John  B.  Wisser, 
commanding  the  Seventy-third  Company  of 
Coast  Artillery,  at  Buffalo,  a  coherent,  detailed 
statement,  giving  the  truth  of  the  event  as  far 
as  then  could  be  learned.  General  Gillespie 
telegraphed  back  to  Buffalo  ordering  the  post 
Surgeon  at  Fort  Porter  to  start  at  once  to  at- 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  265 

tend  the  Commander-in-Chief,  and  that  a  de 
tachment  of  troops  from  that  post  be  rushed  to 
the  Exposition  grounds  and  thrown  around  the 
hospital  there  to  act  as  guard. 

It  was  not  until  that  afternoon  of  Septem 
ber  6  that  the  country  as  a  whole  understood 
the  greatness,  the  gentleness,  the  courage 
of  William  McKinley.  As  soon  as  the  fatal 
shot  was  fired,  Mr.  Cortelyou,  secretary  to  the 
President,  and  other  officials  sprang  to  his  as 
sistance,  and  while  some  of  the  detectives  pres 
ent  helped  to  place  the  wounded  man  in  a 
chair,  other  guards  threw  themselves  upon 
the  assassin,  hurled  him  to  the  ground,  and 
wrenched  the  smoking  pistol  from  his  murder 
ous  hand.  The  President's  face  was  very  white 

-I  am  quoting  from  one  who  was  present  — 
and  he  made  no  outcry  as  he  sank  back,  holding 
one  hand  at  his  abdomen,  the  other  fumbling 
at  his  breast.  His  eyes  were  open;  he  wras 
clearly  conscious  of  all  that  happened.  And 
in  that  moment  of  supreme  agony,  when  his 
very  life-blood  was  gushing  forth,  he  looked 
up  into  the  face  of  Mr.  Milburn,  President 
of  the  Exposition,  and  gasped: 


266    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

"  Cortelyou  -  -  Cortelyou.  My  wife  -  -  be 
careful  about  her.  She  's  sleeping  —  break  the 
news  gently  to  her.  ..." 

Moved  by  pain,  he  writhed  to  the  left,  and 
then  his  eyes  fell  on  the  prostrate  form  of  his 
would-be  murderer,  Czolgosz,  who  lay  on  the 
floor,  helpless  beneath  the  blows  of  the  Expo 
sition  guard. 

With  a  self-mastery  and  a  charity  almost 
divine  the  President  raised  his  right  hand  and 
placed  it  on  the  shoulder  of  Mr.  Cortelyou. 

'  Let  no  one  hurt  him,"  he  said  in  a  voice  of 
command,  so  firm  that  all  who  heard  it  were 
startled. 

The  next  instant  he  sank  back  in  the  chair 
while  the  Exposition  guards  carried  the  as 
sassin  away. 

At  the  time  of  the  shooting,  Mrs.  McKinley 
was  quietly  asleep  in  the  home  of  Mr.  Milburn, 
and  in  pursuance  of  her  husband's  wishes  she 
was  not  disturbed  or  told  of  the  dreadful  event 
for  some  little  time  after  it  had  occurred. 

The  Vice-president  was  at  once  notified,  and 
left  Isle  La  Motte  on  a  steam  yacht,  which 
rushed  him  to  Burlington,  where  a  special 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  267 

train  was  made  ready  on  which  he  hastened  to 
Buffalo. 

President  McKinley  died  at  2.15  A.  M.,  on 
Saturday,  September  14,  and  just  before  he 
passed  away  his  wife  was  taken  into  the  room 
where  he  lay,  to  bid  him  final  farewell.  As 
she  was  tenderly  led  away  from  that  chamber 
of  death,  he  whispered : 

"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,"  -  words  of  the 
hymn  always  dear  to  his  heart.  Feebly  and 
with  effort,  he  added,  "Good-bye,  all;  good 
bye.  ...  It  is  God's  way,  not  ours.  .  .  .  ' 

When  the  office  staff  came  to  the  White 
House,  a  few  hours  later,  that  Saturday  morn 
ing,  the  great  flag  was  already  at  half  mast, 
and  on  the  front  door  was  posted  a  printed 
card,  bearing  a  single  word:  "  Closed." 

The  high  windows  of  the  East  Room  were 
covered  by  white  shades  which  had  been  drawn 
over  them.  Visitors  were  denied  admittance 
to  the  building,  although  many  came  there,  and 
strolled  around  the  grounds  before  leaving. 
The  employees  of  the  White  House  went  about 
their  duties  with  careworn  faces  and  soft  steps ; 
and  a  large  force  of  men  were  already  on  hand 


268    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

making  everything  ready  for  the  return  of  Mrs. 
McKinley  and  her  dead. 

The  train  bearing  the  lifeless  body  of  this 
martyred  President  arrived  in  Washington 
Monday  evening,  September  16,  and  the  mor 
tal  remains  of  a  man  who  truly  was  beloved 
by  all  who  knew  him  lay  in  the  East  Room, 
surrounded  by  a  guard  of  honor  until  the  fol 
lowing  day,  when  they  were  taken  to  the  Capi 
tol,  and  there  lay  in  state,  under  the  lofty  dome 
of  the  rotunda.  The  flag  was  half-masted  at 
the  main  entrances  to  the  Capitol,  but  there  was 
no  black  drapery  or  other  indication  of  death, 
the  law  having  been  already  passed  which  pro 
vides  against  such  drapery  on  public  buildings. 

To  the  amazement  of  her  physician  and  other 
attendants,  Mrs.  McKinley  bore  up  surpris 
ingly  during  all  the  days  and  nights  of  this 
ordeal,  and  her  physical  condition  occasioned 
little  anxiety  when  the  funeral  train  left  Wash 
ington  in  three  sections  on  the  following 
Wednesday. 

The  services  of  interment  were  held  in 
Canton,  Ohio,  on  Thursday.  Mrs.  McKinley 
never  came  back  to  the  White  House,  all  her 


HOME  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY  269 

personal  belongings  there  being  packed  shortly 
afterward  and  sent  to  her  by  Mr.  Cortelyou. 

In  closing  this  brief  chapter,  I  have  one 
regret:  that  I  am  unable  fittingly  to  charac 
terize  the  unspeakable  wickedness  of  those 
newspaper  editors,  managers,  directors,  \vhose 
savagery  and  ferocity  and  fanaticism  led  them 
to  print  and  throw  broadcast  over  the  country, 
for  days  and  weeks  and  months,  such  attacks 
upon  President  McKinley  as  undoubtedly 
preyed  upon  the  unbalanced  minds  of  many, 
and  which  certainly  contributed  to,  if  indeed 
they  did  not  directly  cause,  his  assassination. 


IX 

WHITE    HOUSE    RECOLLECTIONS    OF 
PRESIDENT    AND    MRS.    ROOSEVELT 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT,  in  some  ways  the  most 
extraordinary  man  who  has  ever  been  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  took  the  oath  of 
office  at  Buffalo  on  September  14,  1901.  On 
Friday,  September  20,  he  arrived  in  Washing 
ton,  from  Canton,  Ohio,  where  he  attended  the 
funeral  services  of  his  predecessor,  and  came  di 
rectly  to  the  White  House,  reaching  here  at 
9.40  o'clock  in  the  morning,  accompanied  by 
his  secretary,  Mr.  Cortelyou,  and  his  brother- 
in-law,  Commander  Cowles,  of  the  navy.  He 
at  once  called  a  Cabinet  meeting,  after  which 
he  went  to  Commander  Cowles's  home  for 
luncheon. 

I  had  seen  much  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  while  he 
was  Civil  Service  Commissioner  residing  in 
Washington.  Even  in  those  days  he  was  a 


270 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT    271 

remarkable  man,  absolutely  fearless,  full  of 
energy,  snap,  vigor;  and  so  in  earnest  about 
everything  he  undertook  that  all  who  came  in 
contact  with  him  set  him  down  as  one  with 
whom  the  world  would  have  to  reckon  some 
time.  His  coming  to  the  White  House  as 
President  created  more  than  a  little  speculation 
on  the  part  of  those  employed  in  the  Executive 
Office.  Nobody  knew  j  ust  what  would  happen ; 
but  all  realized  to  the  full  that  they  were  face 
to  face  with  a  force  new  to  American  life ;  that 
they  were  to  be  called  upon  to  help  carry  out 
plans  and  policies  of  an  energy  literally  tire 
less  and  of  boundless  scope.  And  yet,  not  one 
man  of  us  had  the  slightest  apprehension;  for 
every  one  felt  that  if  we  tried  to  do  our  work 
faithfully,  we  had  nothing  to  fear.  As  far  as 
we  were  concerned  there  was  no  need  for  a 
declaration  as  to  a  "  square  deal."  It  was  ours 
from  the  moment  Theodore  Roosevelt  stepped 
into  the  White  House  that  Friday  morning  of 
September  20,  1901,  with  Mr.  Cortelyou  and 
Commander  Cowles,  and  called  the  first  meet 
ing  of  his  Cabinet  advisers.  And  it  was  ours 
continuously  until  the  few  moments  when  he 


MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

called  us  together,  on  March  3, 1909,  and  spoke 
his  farewell  to  his  office  force. 

Three  days  after  President  Roosevelt  came 
to  the  White  House,  Mr.  Cortelyou  summoned 
the  office  staff  to  the  old  Cabinet  room,  which 
then  was  still  used  as  the  private  office  of  the 
Executive.  Arriving  there  we  naturally  fell 
into  a  line,  and  the  President  strode  toward 
us  with  his  decisive  step.  For  a  moment  he 
looked  us  over  —  a  single,  sweeping  glance  of 
his  peculiar  intensity  —  and  then,  his  face 
breaking  into  a  smile,  he  said: 

'  I  'm  glad  to  see  you  all,  gentlemen.  .  .  . 
But  I  did  n't  know  I  had  such  a  large  office 
force!" 

Then  he  came  still  nearer,  and  shook  hands 
with  each  one. 

There  was  something  engaging,  something 
electric,  about  him ;  about  his  tremendous  vigor, 
his  physical  power,  his  direct,  unswerving,  in 
tense  expression  of  countenance,  and  his  hearti 
ness  of  manner,  which,  combined,  produced  a 
remarkable  effect.  It  has  been  my  privilege, 
in  the  course  of  my  subordinate  duties  at  the 
White  House,  to  meet  thousands  of  men,  from 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT    273 

Lincoln's  day  down  to  the  present;  of  whom 
hundreds,  from  time  to  time,  occupied  com 
manding  positions  in  one  field  of  life  or  an 
other.  But  never  has  any  one  of  them  pro 
duced  upon  me  such  an  effect  as  did  President 
Roosevelt  when  he  called  us  together  that 
morning  in  his  office. 

From  the  day  he  took  possession  of  the 
White  House  Mr.  Roosevelt  started  in  to  work 
hard,  and  this  he  kept  up  during  more  than 
seven  years  at  a  pace  that  surprised  the  world. 
Soon  after  breakfasting  with  his  family  he 
would  go  to  his  office,  and  from  the  moment 
he  arrived  the  office  machinery  would  run  at 
full  speed.  His  record  as  Civil  Service  Com 
missioner,  Police  Commissioner  in  New  York 
City,  Colonel  of  the  Rough  Riders,  Governor 
of  New  York,  and  Vice-president  of  the  United 
States,  had  made  him  known  to  every  hamlet, 
farmhouse,  and  cross-roads  in  the  country.  The 
American  people  as  a  whole  felt  a  personal 
interest  in  him,  and  they  felt  that  he  had  a  per 
sonal  interest  in  them;  that  he  would  do  all  in 
his  power  to  right  public  wrongs,  whether  na 
tional  or  local;  to  encourage  and  stand  fast 


274    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

with  those  who  were  trying  to  do  what  was 
honest  and  upright. 

This  feeling  of  personal  friendship  on  the 
part  of  the  public  resulted  in  a  daily  mail 
larger,  perhaps,  than  any  other  individual  ever 
received  continuously  in  this  hemisphere.  The 
President  had  quizzically  commented  upon  the 
size  of  his  office  force  that  morning  when  we 
first  came  to  meet  him,  but  he  soon  found  out 
that  he  had  plenty  of  need  for  the  thirty-eight 
men,  eight  of  whom  were  stenographers  and 
typewriters.  It  is  something  of  a  task  to  han 
dle,  examine,  and  reply  to  five  hundred  letters 
a  day,  on  the  average,  for  seven  or  eight  years. 
Of  course  the  President  did  not  read  or  per 
sonally  answer  all  of  these  letters.  That  would 
have  been  a  physical  impossibility  for  any  two 
men;  but  nothing  was  kept  from  him  that  he 
ought  to  see,  and  his  orders  were  very  strict 
that  a  proper  response  must  be  made  to  every 
communication  which  came  to  the  Executive 
Office.  In  this  connection  will  be  recalled  the 
great  flood  of  letters,  telegrams,  and  other  mes 
sages  of  congratulation  that  swept  into  the 
White  House  immediately  after  his  election 


PRESIDENT  AND   MRS.  ROOSEVELT    275 

in  November,  1904.  Thousands  and  thousands 
of  them  there  were,  from  almost  every  part  of 
the  country.  I  think  I  am  correct  in  saying 
that  individual  acknowledgment,  by  note  or 
by  engraved  card,  was  made  to  every  one  so 
received. 

I  doubt  if  any  previous  President  ever  took 
such  active,  personal  interest  in  so  many  public 
questions,  inaugurated  so  many  new  lines  of 
work  for  the  public  welfare,  created  so  many 
new  lines  of  business  looking  toward  the  facili 
tating  of  governmental  functions  as  he  con 
ceived  them.  Yet  we  have  never  had  another 
President  who  regarded  recreation,  daily  ath 
letic  exercise,  as  so  important  that  it  must  be 
taken  as  consistently  and  regularly  as  food. 
Furthermore,  if  there  ever  has  been  another 
President  who  was  so  punctilious  about  social 
obligations,  who  read  so  thoroughly  and  enor 
mously,  and  part  of  whose  very  religion  was 
to  devote  himself  constantly  to  wife  and  chil 
dren  -  - 1  do  not  know  who  he  was. 

I  am  well  aware  that  in  the  case  of  every 
President  there  must  be  wide  divergence  of 
opinion  concerning  his  public  life  and  politi- 


£76    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

cal  and  economic  policies.     In  these  recollec 
tions  of  the  home  life  of  our  Presidents,  I  have 
nothing  to  do  with  such  matters.     Yet  it  is 
surely  permissible  for  me  to  say  that  the  ex 
traordinary  enthusiasm  with  which  President 
Roosevelt  threw  himself,  day  after  day,  into  his 
official  duties,  was  no  whit  greater  than  the  en 
thusiasm  which  he  carried  into  his  unofficial  life. 
He  was  more  like  an  ancient  Greek  than  any 
other  human  being  I  ever  saw,  in  that  he  was 
interested   in    everything   and   in    everybody. 
Whether  it  were  a  monumental  success  like 
bringing  about  the  Treaty  of  Portsmouth  and 
thus    ending   hostilities    between    Japan    and 
Russia;  or  seeing  to  it  that  the  Panama  Canal 
was   actually  under  way;   or  finding  a  new 
author  of  real  promise,  —  it  was  all  the  same. 
His  interest  was  aroused  instantly,  his  enthu 
siasm  was  unabated. 

One  morning  in  March,  1905,  I  received  a 
note  from  a  Washington  gentleman,  introduc 
ing  a  Mr.  C.  N.  Teeter,  of  Hagerstown, 
Ind.,  "who,"  the  note  went  on  to  say,  "has 
a  top  made  by  his  son,  eight  years  of  age,  which 
he  wishes  to  have  presented  to  Master  Quentin 
Roosevelt." 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT    277 

I  had  a  talk  with  Mr.  Teeter,  who  was  a 
machinist.  It  seemed  that  his  little  son  had 
become  very  much  interested  in  reading  about 
Quentin;  and,  being  of  about  the  same  age, 
thought  it  would  be  nice  to  make  a  present  for 
him.  So  he  went  into  his  father's  shop,  and 
after  much  effort  turned  out  a  steel  top  —  the 
most  remarkable  top  I  have  ever  seen,  at  that. 
Mr.  Teeter  wanted  to  know  if  the  President 
would  allow  Quentin  to  accept  the  little  gift. 
Not  merely  would  Mr.  Roosevelt  do  this,  as 
I  quickly  ascertained;  but  he  wanted  to  see 
the  boy,  and  have  a  chat  with  him,  and  find  out 
how  the  wonderful  top  could  be  spun.  So,  as 
soon  as  possible  thereafter,  the  Indiana  young 
ster  was  brought  to  the  White  House,  and 
taken  into  the  President's  private  office. 
The  President  patted  him  on  the  head,  and 
asked  questions,  and  finally  learned,  as  did 
Quentin,  how  the  top  would  go.  This  in 
terview,  of  course,  took  only  a  few  minutes  - 
but  the  point  is  that  it  was  granted,  gladly 
granted  by  Mr.  Roosevelt;  and  that  for  those 
few  minutes  everything  else  was  put  aside. 

I  have  been  told  of  a  new  book  the  President 


278    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

heard  of  and  sent  for,  —  a  monumental  work, 
tracing  certain  phases  of  human  history  as  far 
back  as  human  history  is  known.  Mr.  Roose 
velt  not  merely  read  books,  but  absorbed 
them.  And  when  he  had  finished  this  particu 
lar  work,  he  sent  for  a  stenographer  and 
started  in  to  write  the  author  —  a  foreigner  - 
what  he  thought  of  the  volume  as  a  whole,  of 
its  historical  accuracy,  and  its  philosophical 
deductions.  Hour  after  hour  he  dictated, 
swiftly,  surely,  and  when  the  letter  was  com 
pleted,  at  one  single  session,  my  recollection 
is  that  it  was  nearer  twenty  than  fifteen  thou 
sand  words  in  length.  At  its  conclusion  Mr. 
Roosevelt  at  once  sent  for  another  short-hand 
man  and  plunged  into  a  matter  of  government. 
The  stenographer  who  had  taken  the  letter 
referred  to  came  out  to  the  general  office,  with 
closely  filled  note-books  in  his  hand,  and  sank 
into  his  chair  nearly  exhausted. 

In  the  early  hours  of  the  morning,  after  dis 
posing  of  his  mail,  the  President  would  receive 
Senators  and  Representatives  and  Cabinet 
members;  and  then,  shortly  before  twelve 
o'clock,  he  would  step  out  to  the  general  re- 


PRESIDENT  AND   MRS.  ROOSEVELT    279 

ception  room  to  greet  private  citizens  from  all 
over  the  country,  who  had  come  to  "  pay  their 
respects."  His  ability  to  remember  faces  and 
names  was  remarkable,  and  I  have  never  known 
him  to  make  a  mistake  therein.  More  than 
once,  while  in  that  room,  crowded  with  visitors 
who  were  being  presented  to  him,  I  have  seen 
him  glance  over  to  a  far  corner,  and  spy  some 
old  acquaintance  from  a  distance  —  from  the 
far  West,  or  some  remote  New  England  vil 
lage,  or  from  the  South,  or  the  Middle  West. 
And  his  hand  would  go  high  up  in  the  air,  as 
he  would  call  out  above  the  sea  of  heads  sur 
rounding  him: 

"  Hullo,  Jack!  Glad  to  see  you.  When  did 
you  get  to  Washington?  " 

"  Just  came  in,  Mr.  President." 

"  Well,  don't  go  away  —  I  want  you  to  take 
lunch  with  me!  " 

And  later  on  the  friend  would  find  himself 
one  of  a  dozen  or  twenty  other  personal  friends 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  gathered  around 
their  hospitable  table.  I  think  I  am  within 
bounds  in  saying  that  probably  there  never 
was  a  day  during  the  Roosevelt  presidency 


280    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

when  no  guests  were  asked  to  take  luncheon 
in  the  White  House.  Both  the  President  and 
his  wife  were  hospitable  in  the  highest  sense. 
They  had  friends  by  the  score,  if  not  by  the 
hundred  --  warm,  sincere,  devoted  friends;  and 
better  than  any  other  thing,  I  believe,  they 
liked  to  entertain  these  friends  in  the  privacy 
of  their  White  House  home. 

Those  familiar  with  Washington  from  1901 
to  1909  will  agree  with  me,  I  am  confident, 
that  no  other  President  ever  infused  into  the 
Executive  Mansion  such  a  spirit  of  joyousness, 
gayety,  and  unbounded  welcome.  And  the 
wife  of  no  other  gave  anything  like  the  number 
of  private  dinners,  small  dances  for  the  young 
people,  musicales,  formal  luncheons,  teas,  "  at 
homes,"  receptions,  and  garden  parties.  Of 
course  the  usual  public  affairs  were  held;  the 
four  state  dinners  each  season  and  other  Presi 
dential  requirements  of  like  nature ;  but  to  these 
I  am  not  referring.  The  list  of  entertainments 
for  which  Mrs.  Roosevelt  sent  out  invitations 
would  appal  almost  any  American  woman. 
Yet  so  great  was  her  capacity  for  carrying 
through  her  share  of  her  husband's  life,  in  ad- 


Copyright  by  Waldon  Fawce 

Theodore  Roosevelt  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt 


:t,  Washington,  D.  C. 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT    281 

dition  to  her  own  particular  duties  as  wife, 
mother,  home-maker,  that  she  was  able  to  live 
those  seven  busy  years  without  losing  health, 
strength,  or  the  youthful,  vivacious,  charming 
presence  that  made  her  personality  as  remark 
able  as  that  of  her  husband.  The  White  House 
Social  List  of  the  Roosevelt  administrations 
makes  record  of  some  one  hundred  and  eighty 
of  these  private  entertainments,  which  were 
given  during  the  six  months'  season  of  the  sev 
eral  years.  Each  of  them  was  a  perfect  example 
of  elegant,  but  by  no  means  extravagant,  enter 
taining  on  the  part  of  an  American  gentle 
woman,  whose  husband  occupied  a  high  po 
sition  in  the  world,  and  who  received  her  guests 
with  dignity  becoming  the  station  in  life  which, 
for  the  time  being,  she  occupied. 

As  chosen  representative  of  a  great  majority 
of  the  American  people,  President  Roosevelt 
gave  the  best  that  was  in  him  to  conduct  the 
business  of  their  government  according  to  what 
he  thought  was  for  the  highest  and  best  inter 
ests  of  those  whom  he  served.  And  it  always 
seemed  to  me  that,  on  her  part,  Mrs.  Roosevelt 
regarded  her  position  as  Mistress  of  the  White 


MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

House  to  be  in  its  own  way  a  position  for 
which  she  felt  responsibility  to  the  American 
people. 

I  have  never  seen  such  a  blending  of  traits 
as  was  shown  in  Mr.  Roosevelt.  He  could  de 
light  a  prince  of  royal  blood  who  might  be 
dining  at  his  table ;  and  a  few  hours  later  meet 
on  absolutely  even  ground  —  man  to  man !  - 
a  group  of  toilworn,  hard-headed  and  hard- 
handed  laboring  men,  who  had  come  to  Wash 
ington  to  ask  his  aid  in  settling  a  disturbance 
in  which  the  public  was  involved. 

Of  course  we  of  to-day  know  all  this;  the 
Roosevelt  administrations  are  yet  a  vivid  mem 
ory.  But,  for  the  benefit  of  readers  in  years 
to  come,  I  am  endeavoring  to  give  some  idea 
of  one  whose  versatility  set  him  apart  as  a  truly 
extraordinary  man,  yet  one  whose  personal 
tastes  were  the  simplest. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  Mr.  Roosevelt 
chafed  under  the  fact  that  when  he  went  away 
from  home  his  advisers  deemed  it  necessary  to 
have  secret  service  men  following  him,  in  order 
that  no  insane  person  should  do  him  harm. 
AVhen  he  first  noticed  that  he  was  being  fol- 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT    283 

lowed  by  such  guards  he  was  indignant;  he 
did  n't  want  them.  He  felt  entirely  able  to 
take  care  of  himself  and  any  who  might  be  with 
him.  But  his  advisers  insisted  that  no  precau 
tion  could  be  omitted.  The  public  interests  in 
which  he  was  the  moving  figure  were  too  great, 
the  policies  at  home  and  abroad,  which  he  was 
instituting,  were  too  serious.  His  advisers 
would  take  no  chances  with  cranks  who  are 
always  scheming  to  get  near  the  President  of 
the  United  States;  and  he  had  to  accept  their 
judgment.  But  he  never  let  the  presence  of 
such  guards  change  his  plans,  or  affect  his  in 
tentions  in  the  slightest  degree.  If  they  had 
to  accompany  him  they  had  to  —  that  was  all 
there  was  to  it.  But  if  the  secret  service  men 
thought  he  would  permit  their  suggestions  to 
hamper,  in  any  way,  the  liberty  of  a  free-born 
American  citizen,  they  were  much  mistaken. 

I  remember  one  afternoon  in  late  January, 
when  the  proverbial  January  thaw  had  made 
everything  soaking  wet  and  miserably  uncom 
fortable,  that  I  started  homeward  from  the  of 
fice,  and  met  the  President  accompanied  by  two 
friends  —  one  being  Mr.  Pinchot  —  and  Mr. 


284    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Sloan  of  the  secret  service.  All  were  dressed 
for  a  "Roosevelt  stroll,"  which  meant  a  tramp 
of  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  miles,  perhaps, 
straight  across  country,  over  hills,  through 
fields  and  woods;  regardless  of  weather,  ob 
stacles  in  the  way,  or  anything  else. 

They  took  their  "stroll"  -for  about  two 
hours,  through  the  marshes  southwest  of  the 
Executive  Mansion.  Pushing  vigorously  on 
ward,  as  usual,  the  President  came  to  an  es 
pecially  soft  spot  in  the  soggy  surroundings, 
but,  looking  ahead,  thought  he  saw  firm 
ground.  The  next  moment  he  sprang  upward 
and  forward  to  this  supposedly  firm  ground, 
but  instead  of  finding  what  was  anticipated, 
he  landed  in  icy  water  literally  up  to  his  waist. 
Without  hesitating  a  moment  he  called  out  to 
his  companions: 

"  Come  along!  We  can  get  through  all 
right!" 

And  not  to  be  outdone,  the  three  instantly 
followed,  with  the  same  result.  The  Presi 
dent  soon  saw  that  it  was  useless  to  proceed 
further  in  that  direction,  and  at  once  leaped 
in  another,  this  time  coming  down  in  a  pool 


PRESIDENT  AND   MRS.   ROOSEVELT    285 

deeper  than  the  first  one,  and  his  companions 
also  plunged  in.  A  moment  or  two  later,  how 
ever,  they  all  made  their  way  to  solid  earth 
again,  wet  to  the  skin  almost  from  armpits  to 
ankles;  but  instead  of  returning  home  for  a 
change  of  clothing,  the  President  laughed  at 
the  misadventure,  and  started  off  at  a  swing 
ing  gait  across  country.  By  this  time  the  after 
noon  was  so  far  advanced  that  the  atmosphere 
was  freezing,  and  this  doubtless  aided  in  dry 
ing  out  their  clothing  as  they  walked. 

Such  considerations  as  the  weather  never  af 
fected  Mr.  Roosevelt  in  the  slightest.  Exer 
cise  he  would  have.  To  keep  up  his  tremendous 
mental  activity  he  felt  it  necessary  to  keep  his 
physical  self  at  its  highest  efficiency.  Often 
have  I  seen  him  start  out  from  the  White 
House  in  a  driving,  smashing  downpour,  dis 
daining  umbrella,  mackintosh  or  other  such 
impedimenta,  and  go  off  on  a  long,  hard 
tramp,  with  the  eagerness  and  zest  and  delight 
he  took  in  everything. 

The  first  time  I  ever  saw  Mrs.  Roosevelt 
was  on  Friday,  September  27,  1901,  when  Mr. 
Loeb  —  to  whom  I  had  administered  the  oath 


286    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

the  day  previous  —  took  me  to  her,  in  the  room 
over  the  Red  Room.  She  wanted  to  see  me 
about  obtaining  a  writing-desk,  and  some 
stationery  and  inkstands ;  and  I  knew  at 
first  glance  that  with  her  as  Mistress  of  the 
White  House,  affairs  would  run  along  easily, 
smoothly,  and  without  unpleasant  features.  A 
most  charming  woman,  she  impressed  me  at 
that  first  meeting,  with  a  sweet,  kind  face,  and 
a  very  winsome  manner.  The  ensuing  seven 
or  eight  years  confirmed  this  first  impression. 

Whether  she  realized  how  great  was  to  be 
her  part  in  her  husband's  presidency  I  do  not 
know,  of  course.  But  she  soon  proved  herself 
competent  to  preside  over  such  varied  and  ex 
tensive  social  activities  as  the  White  House 
had  never  known  before.  Mrs.  Roosevelt  did 
not  employ  a  housekeeper,  but  kept  a  strict 
oversight  herself  upon  household  matters.  It 
was  absolutely  necessary,  however,  for  her  to 
have  the  assistance  of  a  social  secretary,  and 
this  important  position  was  ably  filled  by  Miss 
Isabel  Hagner. 

How  Mrs.  Roosevelt  ever  managed  to  at 
tend  to  her  multitudinous  affairs  has  always 


PRESIDENT  AND   MRS.  ROOSEVELT    287 

been  a  mystery  to  me;  but  she  did  so,  with  a 
thoroughness  unsurpassed.  First  of  all  wife 
and  mother,  she  was  also  comrade  of  her  hus 
band,  and  confidante  of  the  children.  When 
the  President  was  going  out  for  a  ride  in  the 
saddle,  he  would  ascertain  whether  Mrs.  Roose 
velt  could  go  with  him.  If  so,  his  delight  was 
unbounded.  If  she  could  not  go,  he  would  send 
for  some  men  friends.  But  frequently  she 
went,  generally  driving  with  the  President  in 
a  carriage  from  the  White  House,  out  to  Park 
Road,  in  the  far  northwest  section,  where  they 
would  find  horses  waiting  for  them.  Then  a 
spring  into  the  saddle,  a  word  to  the  splendid 
animals  —  and  away  they  would  go,  flying 
like  the  wind,  out  into  the  country.  And  let 
me  remark,  right  here,  that  Mrs.  Roosevelt, 
when  I  knew  her,  was  one  of  the  finest  horse 
women  I  ever  met.  Without  wishing  to  make 
comparisons,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  she  was 
as  much  at  home  in  the  saddle  as  was  her  dis 
tinguished  husband. 

Both  of  them  intensely  patriotic,  believing 
in  their  country  and  in  their  fellow  country 
men  and  countrywomen ;  delighting  in  the  com- 


288    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

radeship  of  their  children;  possessing  sound 
judgment  concerning  books,  pictures,  music, 
the  drama;  exceedingly  hospitable  by  nature; 
loving  God's  outdoors,  and  the  creatures  God 
has  placed  there  —  it  is  no  wonder  that  theirs 
has  been  an  ideal  life  in  its  home  and  family 
aspects.  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  when  in  the  White 
House,  looked  after  the  comfort  and  health 
of  husband  and  children  just  as  any  other 
American  woman  would  do  in  private  life. 
The  welfare  of  the  boys  and  girls,  their  schools, 
their  games,  their  friends  and  ambitions,  were 
a  very  important  part  of  life  to  this  charming, 
graceful,  winsome,  womanly  woman.  Whether 
considering  a  boyish  project  which  Quentin 
or  Archie  had  for  "  camping  out "  somewhere 
over  night;  or  presiding  at  a  great  dinner  to 
distinguished  guests,  and  later  the  same  even 
ing,  at  9.30  or  10  o'clock,  perhaps,  receiving 
five  hundred  more  at  a  musicale  —  as  was 
often  the  case — Mrs.  Roosevelt  was  always 
the  same:  gentle,  courteous,  gracious,  and 
winsome.  I  have  used  that  word  "  winsome  " 
several  times  in  referring  to  Mrs.  Roosevelt- 
I  meant  to  do  so.  To  my  mind  it  describes 


PRESIDENT  AND   MRS.  ROOSEVELT    289 

her  more  accurately  than  any  other  word  in 
the  language. 

Because  of  her  rare  simplicity,  open-hearted- 
ness,  and  downright  "  goodness,"  her  youth 
ful  spirit  never  changed.  Like  her  husband 
she  was  able  to  meet  and  mingle  on  equal  terms 
with  people  of  all  ages.  And  when  she  ar 
ranged  the  White  House  dinner  for  school 
girl  friends  of  Miss  Ethel,  which  was  given 
Thursday  evening,  April  18,  1907,  and  took 
part  in  the  dance  which  followed  it,  in  the  East 
Room,  the  young  guests  who  were  present 
never  realized  that  she  was  one  whit  older  than 
they  were.  She  entered  into  the  affair  with  the 
single  intention  of  giving  the  school-girls  just 
as  good  a  time  as  they  could  possibly  have. 
And  it  was  because  she  wholly  forgot  herself, 
and  thought  only  of  the  others,  that  she  seemed 
as  young  as  they  that  memorable  evening. 

Like  the  President,  she  lived  an  outdoor  life 
as  far  as  possible,  and  did  not  believe  in  letting 
weather  conditions  interrupt  plans  for  riding 
or  walking.  In  this  connection  I  remember 
the  thirtieth  day  of  January,  1908  —  the  cold 
est  day  Washington  had  had  for  a  year,  if  not, 


290    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

indeed,  for  many  a  year.  Everybody  in  the 
city,  almost  everybody,  that  is,  was  complain 
ing  of  the  bitter  weather,  and  almost  everybody 
had  difficulty  in  keeping  reasonably  warm. 
In  this  we,  of  the  Executive  Office,  formed  no 
exception.  I  had  arrived  in  the  office  rather 
early  that  day,  and  was  busily  engaged  in 
blowing  the  tips  of  my  fingers,  and  stamping 
my  feet,  when,  at  about  fifteen  minutes  before 
nine  o'clock,  I  happened  to  glance  through  a 
window,  and  saw  the  President  and  Mrs. 
Roosevelt  leaving  the  White  House,  neither 
wearing  hat  or  head  covering  of  any  other  kind. 
They  turned  into  the  South  Grounds,  bare 
headed  as  they  were,  and  made  two  full  rounds, 
he  walking  rapidly,  with  his  habitual  long, 
swinging  step,  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt  keeping  up 
with  him.  The  keen,  biting  air,  just  gilded 
with  rays  of  the  winter  sun,  and  the  light-col 
ored  sky,  was  what  they  wanted  to  enjoy; 
and  enjoy  those  things  they  did,  with  a  vim. 

It  was  only  a  few  weeks  before  this  hap 
pened,  that  the  children  suffered  a  great  loss 
in  the  disappearance  of  a  pet  dog,  a  little  black- 
and-tan,  which  they  loved  with  all  their  hearts, 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT    291 

especially  Quentin.  Search  was  made  dili 
gently,  but  no  trace  could  be  found  of  it.  One 
day  word  was  brought  to  the  White  House 
that  a  dog  answering  the  pet's  description  had 
been  seen  in  the  public  dog-pound,  and  without 
delay  Mrs.  Roosevelt  set  out  to  walk  there,  ac 
companied  by  Quentin  and  his  governess. 
When  they  reached  the  pound,  they  were  dis 
appointed  to  find  that  the  black-and-tan  was 
not  their  lost  friend.  But  it  did  look  very  much 
like  him ;  so  much  so,  in  fact,  that  little  Quen 
tin  took  it  in  his  arms,  and  petted  it,  and  whis 
pered  to  it. 

Mrs.  Roosevelt  called  the  poundmaster  to 
her. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  the  dog 
my  little  boy  is  playing  with?  "  she  inquired. 

"  He  will  be  killed  if  not  redeemed  very 
shortly,  Madam." 

"  Can  I  purchase  his  freedom?  " 

"  Yes,  Madam,  by  paying  the  usual  fee  of 
two  dollars." 

Quentin  was  asked  if  he  would  like  this  new 
doggie;  and  his  answer  caused  Mrs.  Roosevelt, 
as  soon  as  she  returned  to  the  White  House,  to 


292    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

send  Anderson  post-haste  to  the  pound,  carry 
ing  a  two-dollar  bill,  with  instructions  to  bring 
back  the  black-and-tan  without  delay. 

One  of  the  most  important  social  events  at 
the  White  House  during  Mr.  Roosevelt's  presi 
dency  was  the  marriage  of  his  daughter,  Alice, 
to  Nicholas  Longworth,  of  Ohio,  which  took 
place  on  Saturday,  February  17, 1906,  the  cere 
mony  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of 
the  United  States  being  read  by  the  Right  Rev 
erend  Henry  Yates  Satterlee,  Bishop  of  the  di 
ocese  of  Washington.  The  day  itself  was  per 
fect,  and  the  gold-and- white  East  Room  was 
made  even  more  splendid  by  exquisite  floral 
decorations.  One  of  the  guests  who  was  pres 
ent,  and  saw  this  twelfth  bride  of  the  White 
House  advance  to  the  dais,  leaning  on  the  arm 
of  her  father,  was  Mrs.  "  Nelly  "  Grant  Sar- 
toris,  who,  thirty  odd  years  previous,  had  been 
married  at  almost  the  identical  spot  in  that 
same  room.  The  great  room  was  packed  to 
its  capacity,  and  the  wedding  was,  perhaps,  the 
most  brilliant  affair  of  its  kind  that  has  ever 
taken  place  on  this  continent. 

The  second  great  social  event  in  the  family 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT    293 

life  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  during  their 
residence  in  the  White  House,  occurred  some 
two  years  after  this  wedding,  when  their 
daughter  Miss  Ethel  was  formally  introduced 
to  society.  No  other  girl  ever  reigned  so  long 
in  the  Executive  Mansion,  not  even  Nelly 
Grant.  Brought  up  in  the  simplest  way  at 
Sagamore  Hill,  and  attending  an  unpretentious 
school-house  near  by,  Miss  Ethel  had  been  the 
comrade  of  two  enterprising  young  brothers, 
and  as  closely  the  comrade  of  father  and 
mother.  Furthermore,  her  preparation  for 
life  was  far  from  that  usually  accorded  Ameri 
can  girls.  Familiar  with  English,  French, 
German;  an  accomplished  pianist;  possess 
ing  mental  and  physical  vigor,  she  also  had  been 
taught  the  art  of  housekeeping  and  home- 
making,  by  that  best  of  all  teachers,  a  com 
petent  mother.  It  is  not  generally  known, 
perhaps,  that  Mrs.  Roosevelt  is  an  exquisite 
needlewoman.  The  baby  clothes  of  all  her 
children,  it  is  said,  w^ere  fashioned  by  her  own 
skillful  fingers;  and  she  early  taught  her 
daughter  to  sew,  and  to  enjoy  it,  so  that,  dur 
ing  her  White  House  life  Miss  Ethel  more 


294    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

often  than  riot  was  fashioning  some  garment, 
or  embroidering  some  fancy  article.  Like  her 
mother  she  was  almost  always  busily  engaged 
thus  when  she  sat  with  her  parents  in  the  even 
ing,  or  when  she  visited  with  young  friends ;  and 
like  both  father  and  mother,  she  was  always 
fond  of  outdoor  life,  having  learned  to  ride  her 
own  little  pony  when  barely  six  years  old,  it  is 
said.  At  the  time  of  her  "  coming  out  "  party, 
she  was  an  accomplished  horsewoman,  and, 
thorough  mistress  of  a  fine  Arabian  mare  which 
had  been  given  her,  she  used  to  accompany  the 
President  on  some  of  his  long,  hard  rides. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  this  charming  young 
American  girl  will  never  forget  that  party, 
held  in  her  honor  in  the  White  House,  to  which 
not  only  her  own  friends  had  been  invited,  but 
to  which  came  eagerly  a  great  company  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  and  women  then  so 
journing  on  the  North  American  continent. 
Nothing  was  spared  to  make  the  event  as  per 
fect  as  possible;  but  true  to  their  traditions, 
the  President  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt  resolutely 
set  their  disapproval  upon  any  extravagance. 
Elegance  there  was  on  every  hand  —  in  the 


PRESIDENT  AND   MRS.  ROOSEVELT    295 

music,  the  decorations,  the  supper,  the  beau 
tiful  costumes  of  the  many  guests;  but  not 
a  scintilla  of  evidence  could  be  found  which 
indicated  wasteful  luxury. 

The  President's  two  eldest  sons,  Theodore, 
Jr.,  and  Kermit,  were  away  at  boarding-school 
during  most  of  the  years  of  their  parents' 
occupancy  of  the  White  House,  but  the  two 
younger  boys,  Archie  and  Quentin,  attended 
schools  in  the  city  or  near  by,  and  fun-loving, 
rollicking  lads  they  were,  too!  From  the  very 
first  day  they  arrived  in  the  Executive  Man 
sion  they  started  in  to  have  a  good  time,  and 
they  began  by  a  detailed,  careful  survey  of 
the  entire  building  —  every  nook  and  cranny 
of  it  —  and  then  of  the  extensive  wide-reach 
ing  grounds.  Washington  remembers  yet, 
with  a  chuckle,  the  story  of  a  prank  they  were 
said  to  have  indulged  in  that  first  day.  I  can 
not  vouch  for  the  accuracy  of  the  story,  but 
accept  it  unhesitatingly,  for  it  sounds  just 
like  two  enterprising  American  youngsters. 
Having  inspected  their  new  home  from  attic 
to  cellar,  the  boys  turned  their  attention  to 
the  grounds,  and  after  examining  the  wide 


£96    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

sweeping  lawns  and  gardens  on  the  south 
side,  they  went  into  the  park  which  fronts 
on  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  By  that  time  the 
afternoon  was  about  gone,  and  it  was  just 
getting  dark.  The  first  person  Archie  and 
Quentin  spied  was  the  old  lamplighter,  with 
his  little  ladder,  scampering  up  and  down  the 
lamp-posts,  lighting  the  gas-jets  which  then 
were  used.  With  deep  interest  they  watched 
this  nimble  little  figure  trotting  from  post  to 
post,  the  ladder  over  his  shoulder,  and  anx 
ious  to  get  all  the  jets  alight  before  the  pre 
scribed  minute  had  expired;  for,  of  course, 
every  detail  of  this  nature  in  and  around  the 
White  House  is  attended  to  with  precision, 
with  the  utmost  exactness  and  thoroughness. 
An  idea  for  a  new  game  popped  into  the 
active  minds  of  Archie  and  Quentin.  As  soon 
as  the  lighter  had  turned  on  and  illuminated 
all  the  gas-jets  on  one  side  of  the  park, 
and  was  hurrying  to  another  side,  the  lads 
would  scramble  up  post  after  post,  agile 
as  a  pair  of  monkeys,  and  turn  out  the  lights. 
The  man  was  completely  mystified.  ISTo 
sooner  would  one  side  of  the  park  be  ilium- 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT    297 

inated  than  the  other  would  be  in  darkness. 
Finally  a  watchman  who  had  been  studying 
this  remarkable  phenomenon,  saw  a  light,  him 
self,  so  to  speak;  and  cautiously  moving  for 
ward  he  spied  a  wiry  youngster  in  knicker 
bockers  swarming  up  a  lamp-post  which  sud 
denly  became  shrouded  in  black  oblivion.  He 
waited  until  the  phenomenon  was  repeated  a 
few  times,  to  make  sure,  and  then  darted  for 
ward  to  take  into  custody  some  young  scamp 
who  had  impudently  invaded  the  White  House 
grounds.  When  he  ascertained  that  he  had 
two  youngsters  in  his  hands,  and  that  both 
were  sons  of  the  President,  he  thoughtfully 
concluded  not  to  press  charges  against  them. 

Every  President,  of  course,  receives  a  great 
many  presents  of  various  kinds  from  people 
all  over  the  country,  and  in  this  respect  Mr. 
Roosevelt  was  no  exception.  Admirers  from 
every  section  of  the  land  wanted  him  to  accept 
gifts  of  every  imaginable  description.  Pub 
lishing  houses  and  authors  sent  books  by  the 
dozen,  score,  hundred.  At  one  period  of  his 
presidency  the  Executive  Office  was  inun 
dated —  if  that  term  is  permissible  —  with- 


298    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

"  big  sticks  "  cut  from  every  type  of  tree.  I 
remember  one  such  that  had  a  butt  end  as 
large  as  a  pumpkin.  Crate  after  crate  ar 
rived  containing  live  foxes,  live  coons,  and  other 
animals,  including  dogs  without  number.  One 
day  the  newspapers  told  that  a  dog  the 
President  was  particularly  fond  of  had  been 
whipped  in  a  fight.  Whether  the  story  wras 
true  or  not  I  cannot  say;  but  I  do  know  that 
a  couple  of  days  later  a  Roosevelt  supporter 
out  in  Ohio  sent  to  Washington  a  crate  in 
which  stood  a  big,  heavy  bulldog.  At  the 
same  time  came  a  note  saying  that  the  Presi 
dent  might  feel  perfectly  safe  in  turning  him 
loose  'most  anywhere;  that  "the  brute  had 
never  yet  been  licked  in  a  fight  " ;  and  the  man 
who  wrote  the  letter  added  that  he  did  n't  be 
lieve  the  brute  ever  would  be.  I  can  vouch 
for  at  least  the  latter  part  of  this  note.  That 
dog  still  lives  in  Washington,  and  he  hasn't 
been  licked,  up  to  this  writing.  But  I  am  in 
formed  on  good  authority  that  he  whipped 
all  the  dogs  he  ever  came  across  in  the  capital 
city.  A  present  of  this  kind  the  President  did 
not  keep  of  course. 


PRESIDENT  AND   MRS.   ROOSEVELT    299 

In  addition  to  endless  official  tasks,  to 
private  and  public  entertaining,  to  constant 
general  reading,  special  studies,  and  his  family 
comradeship,  Mr.  Roosevelt  insisted  upon 
keeping  informed  as  closely  as  possible  con 
cerning  the  opinion  of  the  country  at  large  on 
all  important  public  matters.  In  order  to  do 
this  he  saw  and  talked  with  hundreds  of  men 
where  other  Presidents  would  have  talked  with 
scores  or  dozens.  He  invited  to  his  office,  for 
free  and  frank  discussion,  not  merely  men  of 
education,  wealth,  owners  and  managers  of 
great  industrial  plants,  but  also  their  workmen. 
It  was  a  wonderful  procession  that  passed  into 
that  office  during  the  seven  or  eight  years  - 
statesmen,  captains  of  industry,  leaders  of 
finance,  authors,  artists,  explorers,  natural 
ists,  scientific  men,  labor  leaders,  ranchmen, 
governors,  generals,  political  leaders  of  little 
country  districts,  humble  folk  of  no  particu 
lar  importance  whatever  except  that  they 
were  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  there 
fore  interested  in  its  welfare.  That  was 
enough.  That  fact  in  itself  was  sufficient. 

But  in  addition  to  seeing  all  these  people, 


300    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

and  attending  to  his  enormous  correspondence, 
the  President,  with  remarkable  success,  under 
took  to  keep  informed  concerning  public  opin 
ion  as  it  was  voiced  by  the  responsible  press 
of  the  nation.  During  Mr.  Roosevelt's  presi 
dency  one  of  my  own  important  duties  was 
to  scan  from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred 
newspapers  each  day,  and  to  mark  every  single 
article,  paragraph,  and  reference  therein, 
which  related  to  the  policies  and  procedure  of 
the  Administration.  Nothing  was  to  be  omit 
ted,  I  was  told,  when  receiving  the  instructions 
for  this  work.  Nothing  must  be  kept  from  the 
President,  no  matter  how  unfavorable,  how 
severely  critical,  provided  that  it  would  be  of 
the  slightest  value  to  him  as  a  guide  to  the 
opinion  of  the  people  as  a  whole,  whom  he  was 
trying  to  serve  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  It 
is  needless  to  add  that  I  followed  my  instruc 
tions  to  the  letter,  and  the  clippings,  of  which 
there  must  have  been  tens  of  thousands,  form 
an  extraordinary  compilation. 

The  American  people,  always  keenly  in 
terested  in  any  new  phase  of  life,  found  an 
endless  field  for  comment  and  speculation  in 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT    301 

the  varied  activities  of  this  many-sided  Presi 
dent.  One  day  the  Physical  Director  of  the 
New  York  Athletic  Club,  "  Professor  "  Mike 
Donovan,  came  down  to  Washington  at  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  request.  In  all  probability  neither 
of  them  thought  anything  about  the  matter 
one  way  or  the  other.  Mr.  Roosevelt  merely 
wanted  to  make  sure  that  after  protracted  resi 
dence  at  the  White  House  he  had  not  lost  any 
of  his  alertness  or  elasticity  of  body.  So  he 
sent  word  to  Donovan  to  come  down  and  "  try 
him  out,"  as  I  may  term  it,  and  Donovan 
responded  as  he  would  have  responded  to  a  like 
request  from  any  one  of  his  old  pupils.  But 
when  the  newspaper  correspondents  got  hold 
of  the  fact  that  Mike  Donovan,  a  famous 
trainer  of  athletes,  was  actually  in  Washing 
ton  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  putting  the 
President  of  the  United  States  through  a 
series  of  "  athletic  stunts  "  -  which  were  to 
take  place  in  the  White  House  itself  —  the 
whole  country  rang  with  columns  and  columns 
about  it.  Such  a  thing  probably  never  took 
place  in  the  White  House  before,  and  that  was 
excuse  enough  for  the  prominence  given  to 


302    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

the  affair.  But  looking  at  it  from  a  common- 
sense  viewpoint,  there  was  every  reason  for 
the  visit.  The  President  called  Donovan  to 
Washington  to  test  the  power  and  efficiency 
of  his  physical  self,  to  see  if  the  bodily  engine 
was  sound,  working  true,  and  not  in  danger 
of  "  slipping  a  cog "  anywhere.  And  during 
his  presidency  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  Donovan 
come  down  for  the  same  purpose  twice  each 
year  on  the  average. 

For  a  long  time,  also,  Mr.  Roosevelt  en 
gaged  in  wrestling  bouts  and  in  boxing  con 
tests  with  "  Joe  "  Grant,  champion  of  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia,  and  these  exercises  took 
place  two  or  three  times  a  week  during  the 
winter  season  when  it  was  not  expedient  to 
go  for  horseback  ride  or  long  walks.  We  of 
to-day  remember,  of  course,  the  arrival  in 
Washington  of  the  distinguished  Japanese 
instructors  in  jiu-jitsu,  who  visited  the  White 
House  at  various  times  during  two  seasons,  un 
til  Mr.  Roosevelt  became  proficient  in  their 
remarkable  art.  It  was  not  only  with  such  ex 
pert  professional  athletic  teachers,  however, 
that  the  President  practiced  various  forms  of 


PRESIDENT  AND   MRS.   ROOSEVELT    303 

self-defense.  Wrestling  bouts,  boxing  con 
tests,  broadsword  encounters,  were  indulged 
in  with  close  personal  friends  —  notably  Gen 
eral  Leonard  Wood  —  and  with  the  President's 
sons  and  their  friends.  At  one  time  the  news 
papers  were  filled  with  stories  about  the  famous 
wrestling  exhibition  given  in  the  East  Room 
by  the  heaviest,  most  powerful,  most  proficient 
wrestlers  of  the  Empire  of  Japan. 

All  this  sort  of  thing  was  unusual,  of  course, 
and  only  served  to  increase  popular  interest 
in  the  President's  every  word  and  act.  And 
following  close  were  various  spectacular  ef 
forts  indulged  in  by  private  citizens,  which 
showed  their  own  endurance  and  originality. 
For  example,  on  November  29,  1907,  an  old- 
time  "  prairie  schooner,"  of  the  type  in  vogue 
in  '49,  came  slowly  up  Pennsylvania  Avenue, 
drawn  by  a  pair  of  philosophic  oxen,  turned 
into  the  White  House  grounds,  and  came  to 
a  full  stop  before  the  entrance  to  the  Execu 
tive  Office.  In  the  wagon  were  an  elderly  wo 
man,  an  accomplished  collie  dog,  and  simple 
housekeeping  utensils;  and  the  whole  outfit 
was  in  charge  of  a  weatherbeaten  old  man, 


304    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

white-haired,  wrinkled,  bearded,  but  spry  as  a 
cat.  This  old  man  was  Ezra  Meeker,  years 
previous  reputed  to  be  a  millionaire  hop-grower 
out  in  what  was  then  Washington  Territory, 
but  who  had  long  before  lost  his  fortune.  A  day 
or  two  previous,  he  had  completed  a  two-year 
journey  from  Tacoma,  Wash.,  to  Washington, 
D.  C.,  and  had  been  able  to  make  an  appoint 
ment  to  be  received  this  November  morning 
by  the  President. 

After  pausing  a  moment  in  front  of  the 
office,  Meeker  shouted  to  his  oxen,  and  they 
lumbered  on,  drawing  the  heavy  wagon  around 
to  a  point  between  the  office  and  the  Depart 
ment  of  State,  across  the  way,  where  they 
were  brought  to  a  stop  again.  This  time 
Meeker  sprang  out  of  his  "  prairie  schooner," 
going  over  the  wheel  as  lightly  as  a  boy,  and 
came  into  the  office,  where  the  President  was 
waiting  to  give  the  vigorous  old  man  a  hearty 
welcome.  After  a  little  chat  he  went  out 
again,  this  time  accompanied  by  the  President, 
who  stood  on  the  office  steps  for  five  minutes, 
looking  with  interest  at  the  outfit  of  long  ago. 
Then  he  went  with  Meeker  over  to  where  the 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT    305 

wagon  waited,  was  introduced  to  the  woman 
inside,  and  enjoyed  seeing  the  collie  dog  put 
through  his  tricks.  It  was  one  of  the  last  days 
of  November,  a  cold  wind  whipped  around 
the  ground  blowing  one's  clothing  awry,  and 
the  President  was  bareheaded,  and  without  an 
overcoat.  But  he  did  n't  mind  it.  He  en 
joyed  the  old  man  and  the  "  prairie  schooner  " 
and  the  oxen  and  the  dog;  and  the  woman  in 
the  wagon  was  made  to  feel,  by  his  courteous 
cordiality,  that  he  felt  it  an  honor  to  meet  her. 
On  another  occasion,  earlier  in  the  same  year, 
Eli  Smith  had  arrived  from  Nome,  Alaska,  in 
a  curious  vehicle,  which  consisted  of  a  regular 
arctic  dog-sledge  resting  on  small  wheels. 
With  the  exception  of  certain  stretches  in  his 
long  journey  when  he  had  to  go  by  water, 
Smith  had  come  all  the  way  from  Nome  to 
Washington  with  that  sledge  drawn  by  his 
team  of  six  dogs,  we  were  told.  He  had  been 
about  a  year  on  the  journey,  and  by  accom 
plishing  the  trip  in  a  specified  period  he  had 
won  a  bet,  said  to  be  for  ten  thousand  dollars. 
Smith  saw  the  President,  presented  to  him  a 
letter  from  an  official  at  Nome,  and  in  return 


306    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

asked  for  and  received  a  brief  note  in  which 
the  President  certified  to  the  date  of  his  ar 
rival  at  the  White  House.  Then  the  rugged 
mail-carrier  from  Alaska  drove  his  sledge 
around  to  the  south  side  of  the  White  House, 
where  Mrs.  Roosevelt  and  the  children  saw  it, 
and  saw  Smith  put  his  Eskimo  dogs  through 
their  paces. 

It  would  be  possible  to  keep  on  writing  al 
most  indefinitely  of  similar  incidents  concern 
ing  the  home  life  of  President  Roosevelt  in 
the  White  House.  But  enough  has  been  said, 
I  think,  to  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  his 
many-sided  personality,  and  his  manner  of 
facing  the  problems,  great  and  small,  that  con 
stantly  came  up  for  attention. 

All  of  us  who  were  employed  in  the  Execu 
tive  Office  during  his  presidency  worked 
hard,  perhaps  harder  than  under  any  other 
President  in  fifty  years;  but  every  man  of  us 
knew  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  worked  harder  than 
we  did;  that  he  knew  what  each  of  us  was 
doing,  and  that  he  appreciated  to  the  full  our 
efforts  to  aid  him  in  transacting  the  business 
of  the  government.  And  he  was  kindness 


PRESIDENT  AND   MRS.  ROOSEVELT    307 

itself  to  us.  On  each  New  Year's  Day,  for 
example,  when  I  went  to  pay  my  respects,  he 
would  "  see  me  first,"  as  the  boys  say,  meet  me 
halfway  across  the  room  with  outstretched 
hand,  and  exclaim; 

"  Happy  New  Year,  Comrade!  Good 
luck  to  you  and  yours!" 

He  had  always  called  me  "  Comrade  " 
from  the  first  time  he  noticed  the  bronze  Grand 
Army  button  in  my  lapel. 

On  the  morning  of  March  3,  1909,  the  Presi 
dent  spoke  his  little  farewell  to  his  office  force. 
There  was  nothing  "  set  "  about  the  few  words, 
or  any  special  arrangement  about  the  meeting. 
He  would  leave  his  high  position  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  when  President-elect  Taft  would 
succeed  him;  so  he  came  out  into  the  office 
quite  informally,  and  we  stood  up,  of  course, 
as  he  appeared.  Then,  with  a  kindly,  cordial 
smile,  which  for  a  moment  rested  on  each  man 
of  us,  he  said : 

"  Gentlemen,  I  want  to  express  my  very  ear 
nest  and  hearty  appreciation  of  the  services  that 
you  have  rendered.  We  have  been  associated 
now  for  nearly  eight  years,  and  there  has  never, 


308    MEMORIES  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

at  any  time,  been  any  demand  made  upon  you 
to  which  you  have  not  responded  in  the  hearti 
est  and  most  generous  fashion.  I  have  often 
thought,"  he  added,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eyes, 
"  you  would  have  been  warranted  in  getting 
up  a  conspiracy  to  murder  me,  for  the  way  I 
have  worked  you.  And,  "  he  continued,  again 
becoming  serious,  "  I  do  wish  you  to  under 
stand  that  I  have  grown  to  feel  a  spirit  of  the 
closest  and  most  genuine  companionship  and 
comradeship  with  you.  I  felt  that  you  and  I 
were  working  for  a  common  end,  and  I  have 
appreciated  very  deeply  the  work  you  have 
done.  I  do  not  wish  to  leave  the  office  without 
having  the  pleasure  of  shaking  hands  with  each 
of  you,  individually." 


THE    END 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 

or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Bldg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

•   2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 

(510)642-6753 
f        •    1 -year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing 

books  to  NRLF 

•   Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4 
days  prior  to  due  date. 




LI 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


JUN  0  8  2001 


12,000(11/95) 


YC  69371 


M134651 


C? 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


